Chief McManus and mayor Ryback read Rambix!

As you may be aware, Rambix was the first of the local media to report on, and document, the crime spike in Minneapolis, starting in late spring 2005. Here, for example, and here, and throughout the blog. That is, after all, one of the missions of this blog - to report and highlight the crime and trends that the Red Star won't, or that the Red Star suppresses (which they do often and very well, thank you very much).

Anyhoo, today mayor Ryback and police chief McManus have an opinion piece in the Red Star titled "R.T. Rybak and William McManus: We're working to reduce serious crime in the city". This is what they say:

"As mayor and police chief of Minnesota's largest city, we are very concerned about the recent spike in violent crime."

And Rambix wrote this on May 21, 2005:

"Spike in violent crime in Minneapolis?
Were the gates to the zoo left open recently? It seems the animals are running wild in Minneapolis. Violent crime in Minneapolis is seemingly out of control, but you have to have an eagle eye to find a lot of it in the Red Star."

Obviously, the mayor and the chief read about the Minneapolis crime spike in Rambix and the Red Star. Welcome, mayor and chief! More from the chief and mayor:

"We want residents and visitors to know that we take this threat seriously and we are leading a targeted, forceful public safety strategy. This is our top priority.

We are implementing an aggressive, proactive plan that targets chronic criminals, focuses on known hot spots, and expands our resources and effectiveness through innovative partnerships. This is certainly about applying the full force of our police officers, but it is about much more."

How about "much more" jail time for the criminals? We're "happy to pay" for a safer Minnesota. And what are the odds many of these creeps are from out of state? Minnesota is like flypaper for the societal bottom feeders, what with all the goodies that are offered. Don't listen to the liberals who seem to feel we've cut all the gift programs out of the budget; we still have one of the most enabling systems in the country when it comes to rewarding laziness and paying people not to work.

It's a good start, Mr. Mayor and Mr. Police Chief. Reform the welfare state and the sentencing, and we'll be on our way.