Paul Soglin: Waxing America

A Conservative, and Sometimes Even Liberal Contradiction

Targeting poor performance in government is a common sport. These days public safety and issues regarding law enforcement are receiving a lot of attention in Wisconsin, especially in Milwaukee and Madison.

The small government advocates, especially doctrinaire conservatives, often note that government is not the answer to everything. They are correct when it comes to law enforcement and public safety.

Study after study, going back to Kansas City in the 1960's, reveal that only adding more police officers does not lower crime.

Adding more police officers and a solid community backing does lower crime and make law enforcement far more effective.

There is an element of public safety that by the very definition of the task, cannot be provided by government. It is the community and neighborhood support  by leaders who will both stand up to crime and work for neighborhood interventions-- yes, the social services.

Government cannot do everything. Nor should it. And one thing government and the police department cannot be is be the neighborhood leadership.

A Radical Remedy for Gang Violence: No Need in Madison. Been There, Done That.

The current issue of the New Yorker (June 22, 2009) features an article by John Seabrook: Don't Shoot. A radical remedy for gang violence.

The article describes the successful  efforts led by David Kennedy, a professor from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice whose work led to sharp declines in violence, including homicides, in Cincinnati; Providence, Rhode Island; and High Point, North Carolina, where it was most successfully used to deter public drug dealing.

From the abstract of the article (full article only available online to New Yorker subscribers):

...the police would identify gang members who were on parole or probation and compel them to attend a meeting. There, the cops would demand that the shootings end, and promise that, if they did not, the punishment would be swift and severe and target the entire gang. The city would also make life coaching and job counseling available to those who wanted out of the thug life. The police were initially skeptical about the program, but in 2007, they began implementing Ceasefire with a team that included social workers and academics. Describes how information about gang activity was gathered and organized by the team.

Kennedy's  program starts with the assumption that law enforcement alone cannot thwart gang activity. It is based in part on theories of community policing developed by many, including University of Wisconsin Professor Herman Goldstein and Madison Police Chief David C. Couper.

The program, Ceasefire, is predicated on the assumption that an attack on gang violence must be swift and effective with a clear message sent to members that there will be consequences, and that a social service component in the program will provide openings into family services, job training, and other basic links to transportion, child care and health services.

The work began when Kennedy first received a grant to develop the program in 1994.

The city of Madison  Neighborhood Resource Teams (NRT) were already in existence in 1992. Actually the first teams were organized in 1990. Think about it - almost twenty years ago.

For those interested in learning more about how the now moribund NRT might be used, here are some links to posts I wrote over the years:

• How to Improve the Prospects for Madison and Milwaukee September 21, 2007
• Solving Milwaukee's Gang Problem June 2, 2006
• Madison's State Street - Wasting Over $3 Million a Year December 15, 2008

When the NRT's were formed, they provided the coordination of law enforcement and social services. The Blue Blanket was formed at the same time as the concentrated law enforcement element needed to provide a safe and healthy community.

Both programs still exist today. Neither is as effective in tackling gang-related drug trafficking and the accompanying violence as they might be if the NRT existed as orignally designed.

Now the Madison NRT's exist in name only.

In 2000 their effectiveness was diluted as the teams were reworked citywide. This of course defeated the entire concept and purpose of the teams - targeting the most violent areas. Subsequent restructuring of the teams did nothing to return them to their original mission and effectiveness.

In the fall of 2000, Mayor Susan J. M. Bauman created an initiative to make the benefits of these cross-functional teams available to all areas of the City... The Mayor and the Guidance Team worked with NRT members and leaders to help the teams begin to operate in larger geographical areas containing approximately 20,000 to 25,000 people. (emphasis added)

The original teams worked in concentrated areas of 800-2000 residents. As the teams languished so did the potential effectiveness of the law enforcement component.

While the rest of the nation watches the wheel reinvented, nothing happens in Madison.

A note about crime data. When inital efforts are made to combat gang crime, there is a drop in reported offenses. Then there may be an increase followed by another drop. The increase is a reflection of effectiveness as trust is built. It does not mean there is actually more crime committed but that more crimes are reported. To examine crime statistics, two comparisons must be made. First, over a period of time - at least a decade; secondly, local rates must be compared to national trends.

Ohio DWI Issued After Crash of "Motorized Barstool" - Doh!

This is both sad and funny.  A 28-year-old Ohio man with a suspended license was busted March 4 after the motorized 5 hp barstool he was driving home rolled over after he had consumed "about 15 beers." The Newark, Ohio Advocate has the whole story here. He pleaded not guilty and has demanded a jury trial. 

Good luck with that.

- Barry Orton

(ht: Scatterplot)

AIG: A Fresh Perspective - Maybe There is a Role for You

Last night Sara and I were watching the evening news and taking in the reports about the anger emanating from Washington D.C. over the bonuses paid to AIG executives. The $165 million in bonuses, some of which are over $1 million and designed to 'retain' executives who already left the company.

Raising three girls, two still in college and one a recent graduate and a struggling actress, coupled with my self-employment has meant things have not always been flush around here the past year.

Sara, fork in hand, gestured at me, "Why don't you go work for AIG?"

Wisconsin Bloggers: Individually and Collectively Inept, Inattentive, Incompetent

With one of the greatest blogging stories sitting right under their collective noses, Wisconsin bloggers sat on their collective behinds and allowed the mainstream media, the CBS Evening news with Katie Couric, to scoop them on the biggest stories of the departing year, the Shawano -SIST story of international intrigue:

Alleged Murder-For-Hire Rattles Small Town:Placid Midwest Town Turned Upside Down By Alleged Hit List And Secretive Group

All a reaction to news of an alleged hit list and claims by a so-called hit man, now telling his story for the first time.

"And I said, 'you want me to kill 60 people? You want me to kill the whole town of Shawano?" said Canadian businessman Bob Cameron.

Keteyian asked: "They were hiring you as a hit man?"

"Yes, they were," Cameron said.

"You're talking about the mayor, the city administrator, the city treasurer, the city attorney, the police chief, judges, investigators, fire commissioners," Keteyian asked.

"Uh huh," Cameron assented

Cameron says in late October he received $175,000 in wire transfers from people known to be part of a secretive group long run out of a house near Shawano called SIST.

Its is a story that could never be fabricated. The cast of characters are from the next great movie, a combined effort of the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino.

The mayor (Kathy Bates) tops the list of sixty potential local victims. The Canadian hitman (Martin Short) was trying to do no more than collect some unpaid bills from the local cult when asked to wipe out half the town. The cult leader (Samuel L. Jackson in a reprise of his role of Jules in Pulp Fiction) is responsible for the investment of over $15 million in local real estate.

The real estate holdings fail and the county treasurer (Johnny Depp) is now foreclosing. The sheriff (Ben Stiller) and his deputy (Owen Wilson) manage to keep the town on edge as they tail two SIST members (Mike -Wayne-Meyers and Dana -Garth- Carvey), who prowl the city streets with a camcorder filming anyone they suspect is in cahoots with the town leaders.

SIST spokesman and attorney (Johnny Depp or should that be Robert Downey Jr.?) manages to bring some semblance of reality to the entire story claiming this was all a misunderstanding.

Sanity is maintained. The FBI agent (Brad Pitt) brings calm and peace to Shawano.(Pronounced Shawn-o as in Shauno of the Dead).

All this going on in plain view. Badger bloggers are writing about Republican committee assignments in the legislature, the performing arts, and Lake Michigan.

Phooey.

                

Blagojevich: Sleaze vs. Crime

Last Friday I was on Wisconsin Public Radio's Week In Review with Joy Cardin and fellow guest and blogger at Boots and Sabers, Owen Robinson.

When the conversation turned to embattled Illinois Governor Blagojevich, I made the observation that:

On the sleaze meter the guy is off the charts, but that so far, the complaint against him has no concrete proof that he either specifically asked anyone for a bribe or that her ever received anything of value.

All of which poses a dilemma, namely when does a politician cross the line from playing hardball politics in appointing only friends and supporters, to the world of extortion and criminality?

The New York Times took up this question on Monday, In Blagojevich Case, Is It a Crime, Or Just Talk?

Ever since the country’s founding, prosecutors, defense lawyers and juries have been trying to define the difference between criminality and political deal-making. They have never established a clear-cut line between the offensive and the illegal, and the hours of wiretapped conversations involving Mr. Blagojevich, filled with crass, profane talk about benefiting from the Senate vacancy, may fall into a legal gray area.

The best advice for any politician, is do not go near that line. You do not want to be in the gray area or any other area that comes near crossing the line.

Terrorists Attack U.S. Homeland; Lower Manhattan, Main Street In Shambles

Almost seven years to the day, terrorists again struck the United States.

A stunning makeover of the Wall Street landscape sent stocks falling precipitously Monday, with the Dow Jones industrials losing 500 points in their worst slide since the September 2001 terrorist attacks. Investors recoiled after a shakeup of the financial industry that took out two storied names: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co.

Lead by the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse*, all domestic criminals, instilled into the highest levels of the Bush Administration, the results were devastating on Monday.

It left hundreds of thousands of Americans either losing their homes and jobs, or both, and the children and grandchildren of the American people enslaved to pay billions of dollars in debt.

The attack began when the Bush Administration was instructed by Wall Street to open the doors at U.S. Department of the Interior and release lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, and envy.

It is rumored that pride and sloth are still hangin' with Dick Cheney.

The wonders of an unregulated economy, encouraged by a right-wing insistence that markets will correct the excesses in private behavior, demonstrates the power of terrorists willing to sacrifice the security of their nation and families.

While there was no immediate loss of life, the death toll should reach into the tens of thousands as dedicated workers find that they and their loved ones no longer have access to a health care system capable of treating the most catastrophic illnesses and diseases.

One disgruntled business leader, previously supporting John McCain remarked, "I cannot trust him. He is so bent on winning, he gives us Sarah Palin. If he died, I cannot imagine her leading us out of this mess. In fact, I cannot imagine McCain doing it either."

*Conquest, War, Famine and Death

Is it the water or the air in Milwaukee?

It could be Milwaukee's air, or the water, or both.  Last week I posted  What Do We Do About the Parents - Incarceration- Especially Blacks, leading with 

Every time we hear right wing analysis about societal problems, whether it comes from Mark Belling or his protege, Charlie Sykes, the rant is about the parents. The not so unsubtle message is that drug addled, unwed inner city residents, authority dissin' and probably black, are incapable of rearing their children.

Then, before the Internet ink was barely dry, Rick Esenberg was in my face with "Inconvenient Truths?" leading with:

Paul Soglin is upset with right wingers for blaming poor educational results in MPS on the "parents."

Before going any further, would someone, anyone, show Rick where there is a reference to the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). I did mention the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), but not Milwaukee.

But Rick's errant missive does not end with the first paragraph. Writing in paragraph three, the legal scholar observes,

It doesn't seem to be a simple function of racism and poverty and the absence of social programs because the degree of dysfunction has increased as both have decreased.

Rick, go to MPS and get a graph of the number of children in households where they are eligible for the free lunch program. Kids in the free lunch program is a good measurement of poverty in a school district. Compare that over the past twnety years and then come back and we can continue the conversation.

Just for the record, kids in the free lunch program in Madison have increased from 20% in the late 1980's, to 26% in the mid 1990's, to over 48% presently.  Of course most of that is because of the migration of families to the Madison area from other Midwestern cities, including Milwaukee. What is amazing about Madison is that despite this significant increase in poverty, academic standards have not  been severely impacted.

Much of the success is the result of the kind of programming that goes beyond direct education of the kids. It impacts the family, it enhances the family, and it set neighborhood standards that even Rick admires. Unfortunately, even Madison is in danger as budget cuts jeopardize many of these programs.

But so long as Rick and his compatriots blame the parents without any recognized programs to break the cycle, Milwaukee will be fighting a desperate losing battle.

Rick gets one thing right. It is something I suggested to him last year as being part of the problem.

Is it the abandonment of poor neighborhoods by the black middle class?

Yes, middle class blacks left the city just as their white middle class counterparts had done years before. So that is part of the problem, but only part of it. There were other institutions and structures available years ago that are no longer effective against poverty and crime.

There are ways to fix the problem. Blaming the parents and leaving it at that is no solution. Frankly, I don't think everyone praying cuts it either.

Rick, racism for middle class blacks may be on the decline, but I am not so sure that poor black families felt any signicant improvement in the past decade.

What Do We Do About the Parents - Incarceration - Especially Blacks

Every time we hear right wing analysis about societal problems, whether it comes from Mark Belling or his protege, Charlie Sykes, the rant is about the parents. The not so unsubtle message is that drug addled, unwed inner city residents, authority dissin' and probably black, are incapable of rearing their children.

Some of that was mimicked yesterday when I posted Government Falls to Right Wing Cynics - Quality of Life Declines.

The problem is because of a cynical shift in taxation and revenue policies implemented by a right-wing Republican legislature and a few Democrats.

To which Terry replied:

More money for education won't replace the lack of support from absentee parents. Raising a child is hard, demanding work and most parents do a great or at least reasonable job. Those who don't should be held accountable, but they aren't - not by the school system, not by local governments, not by politicians, not by pundits. The children of these absentee parents deserve our support, but what they really need is the support of their parents. Even more money doesn't make up for the lack of parental support and guidance.

Interesting sentiments. The problem is their right wing talking point about the parents identifies a problem with no specific solution other than a lot of hand wringing and a cry to "be held accountable."

Here are some very specific things that were done to get parents more involved in their children's education.

• The Madison Metropolitan School District funded outreach programs that got parents more involved in their children's education. It ranged from transportation on parent-teacher nights to time spent explaining classwork to the adults. It was cut among the spending limits and the hue and cry about 'bloated bureaucracy' and too many administrators.
• A non-profit, Family Enhancement, was located at Harmabee providing direct services focused on parenting skills for households with infants and toddlers. Funding cuts and a rent increase forced the non-governmental agency to leave.
• In talking to everyone from police officers to educators, health officials to building inspectors, there is a consistent refrain that what would really make a difference would be more case workers. In any budget crunch, some of the first casualties are the case workers.

That leaves us with too many struggling parents who do not have the skills to make sure their children are completive in an every increasing technological world.

Some suggestions:

• If a parent is caught with drugs, immediate incarceration and the children go off to the orphanage. Very expensive but effective.
• If the children are up past midnight and cutting school, immediate incarceration and the children go off to the orphanage.
• If the mother has another child, immediate incarceration, yes, incarceration.

Terry suggested that we on the left have no solutions. Readers of Waxing America know that I have written dozens of posts about how to break the cycle of poverty. The solutions need the will to act and money.

Meantime, the right wing rants about the parents, while they offer no realistic solution other than their moral indignation, which is as valuable as their outrage.

To bring about change there must be a shift in community standards. That cannot be imposed from the outside, it must come from the neighborhood. The parents with the high standards must be supported so that their values become the dominant culture. They are essential to bring about change. But they cannot do it alone. They need support from public and private institutions.

It means more than law enforcement. It means spending money on education, health, and even some of the most effective social programs available - simple and logical - after school and summer recreation.

Law and Order American Style: Fascist Home Wreckers

Last week's story from Prince George's County, Maryland was not unusual or rare except that the facts in this instance are so clear and unconverted. A police dog found a package at a shipping facility that contained thirty pounds of marijuana. They followed the delivery to the nice middle class home and then conducted a raid.

There was a problem. They knew nothing about the intended recipients of the package. Police raid Md. mayor's home and kill his dogs

Mayor Cheye Calvo got home from work, saw a package addressed to his wife on the front porch and brought it inside, putting it on a table. Suddenly, police with guns drawn kicked in the door and stormed in, shooting to death the couple's two dogs and seizing the unopened package...

...Police say the couple appeared to be innocent victims of a scheme by two men to smuggle millions of dollars worth of marijuana by having it delivered to about a half-dozen unsuspecting recipients.

Before this chaotic event was resolved, the two family dogs were shot,

Calvo insisted the couple's two black Labradors were gentle creatures and said police apparently killed them "for sport," gunning down one of them as it was running away.

and Calvo's mother in law was treated like the victim of a Fascist state:

But officials insisted they acted within the law, saying the operation was compromised when Calvo's mother-in-law saw officers approaching the house and screamed...

...when she was handcuffed and interrogated for several hours.

Nothing surprising here. Nor should you be stunned or shocked by the response of the police department:

Prince George's County Police Chief Melvin High.. defended the way the raid was conducted. He and other officials did not apologize for killing the dogs, saying the officers felt threatened...But officials insisted they acted within the law, saying the operation was compromised when Calvo's mother-in-law saw officers approaching the house and screamed.

Years ago I had a discussion with Madison police officers on city policy regarding searches and intrusions without a warrant. One officer defended departmental policy saying, "Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions allow us to do it, it is within the law."

He was right, but I responded, "Just because the Supreme Court has lowered the bar, compromised rights to protect citizens from abusive process of law, does not require us to lower our Constitutional standards."

This is the result of the cynical appointments to the United States Supreme Court by Reagan, Bush, and Bush.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court rulings are no different with the court now owned by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) The election of Anette Ziegler and Max Gableman ensured a right-wing majority that will do all within its power to limit citizens' protections against illegal search and seizures and unwarranted brutal force.

Years ago I created a Public Safety Review Committee for the city of Madison.  This is exactly the kind of subject they should examine. It would be wise for them to call in police officials and go over the Madison standards in these kind of situations. Nowhere is it written that we have to live by the lowest common denominator whether it is set by Clarence Thomas or Max Gableman.

These folks were white and middle class, and the mayor. Imagine being black and not so middle class, and not the mayor.