Violent Crime Rate Back on the Rise

It was inevitable. The crime rate had been going down, in the U.S., for over a decade. But I knew all along that it would eventually go back to the bad old days. Until we address the root causes we will always have a crime problem:

Murders and robberies continued to rise across the country during the first six months of 2006, on pace for an increase in violent crime for a second straight year, preliminary FBI data released Monday show.

With less funds for law enforcement, increased availability of cheap drugs coming over the Mexican border, and the decline of the economy, crime was certain to rise:

"This is a concern we've been focused on," said Gene Voegtlin, legislative counsel for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which represents an estimated 20,000 law enforcement officials and has been pushing for more crime-fighting funding. "A lot of (police) agencies are really stretched thin when it comes to the budget and their ability to aggressively combat crime."

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And you thought Congress' job approval rating couldn't get any lower:

Just 11% of American voters give the outgoing Congress good or excellent marks. That's down from 13% two weeks ago and 15% on Election Day.

And we don't think the new Congress is going to do any better:

Looking ahead, 45% say it is at least somewhat likely that Congress will act seriously to address important problems in the coming year. A slightly larger number, 51%, say serious Congressional action is not likely.

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You might not have heard Dan Rather, this Sunday, accuse FOX news of taking the White House line "word for word." It's becoming increasingly clear that cable network (and it's print version, the NY Post) have become an arm of the Republican Party.