Milwaukee Mayor's Budget Cuts Police and Fire

The Mayor of Milwaukee says that his budget may force the cutting of up to 84 Police Officers and 75 firefighters.  He says that it is due to Pension Payments for retirees.  He also is blaming the State for not giving him more money to help cover these costs.

The city is in the middle of a major crime growth, and the Mayor is cutting Officers?

He said the budget request was $26.9 million dollars higher than the request for 2017.   The Police Department appears to be looking at a cut of $7.3 million. 

Wonder if the $128 million that the Mayor is spending on the 2.5 mile street car would have helped plug this shortfall?  Also, what about the $3.2 million being set aside annually to pay for upkeep and maintenance of the street car?  Those budgets don't seem to be taking a hit.  So the Mayor is cutting Public Safety to save his street car?

It is time for a leadership change in the City of Milwaukee.  Milwaukee has seen a growth in building, lots of High End Condos, however the population has declined.  Crime has to be a major contributor to that.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - 

The City of Milwaukee's population declined by 4,366 people from 2015 to 2016, erasing much of the slow but steady gains the city experienced since 2010, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.  

For the first part of the decade, the city saw slight annual population increases, growing from 595,188 in 2010 to 600,178 in 2014. Starting with the 2015 population estimates, Milwaukee's numbers started declining, falling by about 1% to 595,047 in 2016.

"I will review Milwaukee’s population estimates and those of other large cities, including Midwestern cities, keeping in mind these estimates are sometimes unreliable," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett wrote in a statement, saying also that the 2016 estimate is still higher than the 2010 April census count of 594,833.

The Downfall of the HealthCare in America

Thanks to the Leaders of the two parties in Washington the Health Care System in America is failing and will continue to do so.

It all started when Obama Won the Presidency.  He went into the White House with a Majority in the Senate and House and decided that He and the Democrats didn't need the Republicans for anything and forced the Democratic Version of Health Care down the throats of the Republicans and the American People.  Everyone saw the flaws in it right out of the gate.  There were major issues in it and everyone knew it.  But by the time the issues bubbled to the top the Democrats had lost their majority.  Now they were in protect mode.  The legacy of the President and Health Care for all had to be protected at all costs.  Even though it is failing, costing people more money, costing the Government more money, and collapsing it still has to be protected at all cost.

Then the Republicans took control of not only the White House, but the Majority in Congress as well.  They now want to repeal it and replace it.  The legislation that is known as Obama Care needs a major overhaul.  Everyone knows it.  The Republicans feel that they must repeal the whole thing and start over.  Looking more like they are taking a shot at the Legacy Legislation of President Obama. 

The people paying the price for the stupidity is the American People.  I honestly feel like there are a block of Republicans in the Congress that want to improve the Health Care system.  They want to improve on what we have now.  They want to make changes that drive down the costs and maintain the good aspects of the current system.  The problem is that they lack the support from Republicans and Democrats alike.  You have the far left wing of the Democratic party keeping the Democrats sidelined during the process in hopes that it costs the Republicans votes during the election.  They don't care about solving the issue only winning votes.  Thankfully the block of the Republicans is forcing on their own, the Republican party to slow down and do it right.  Solve the issues with the Health Care Bill and not just be in a hurry to pass something.  It would be nice if the Democrats would break from their leadership and be involved in the process so that the American People can reap the benefits of a truly well rounded bill that people want.

Is the Milwaukee Police Chief Really that Lost?

Milwaukee has a major problem with crime.  It is out of control and only getting worse.  Just watch the news every night and you will see, the first 5-10 minutes is all about the shootings, car thefts, robberies and more.  It is completely ridiculous.

Anyone will tell you that criminals are thriving in Milwaukee.  The Milwaukee Police Department won't chase you.  Just drive away fast and they let you go.  It is the Policy the Milwaukee Police Chief has.  I have heard from people on both sides of the law how this has increased crime.  I know people in the city tell me, "Cops don't care they have more important things to do.  Just drive away they won't chase you".  I also have heard from other Police Officers outside of Milwaukee talk about how criminals flee their jurisdiction to get into Milwaukee where they know they are safe.

I even witnessed kids who vandalized a car by throwing a large rock at it.  It damaged the car and the driver pulled over.  The kids sat there and laughed.  The driver called the police and told the kids that.  They laughed again and said go ahead and call them, they won't come here they have more important things to do.  The Police never did show up, instead the driver had to drive to the Police Station to file a report. 

The Milwaukee Police Chief and the Milwaukee County DA have the crime problem figured out.  They know how to stop it.  The problem is that it is out of their hands.  The crime problem in Milwaukee lies some 75 miles to the West in Madison.  It is the Conceal Carry Law.  That is what is causing the problems in Milwaukee.  Just ask the Milwaukee Police Chief.

I have searched and searched and out of all the many many many shootings and killings in Milwaukee have only been able to find a few where the shooter was a Conceal Carry Permit holder.  So please explain to me how the law plays into the rise in crime in Milwaukee? 

Why We hate Politicians

Look at Washington DC right now.  Actually look at it over the last several years.  Nothing gets done.

We can't change the past so lets focus on the here and now.

Both parties are too busy fighting each other to look at the opportunity right in front of them.  Democrats are too busy trying to discredit Trump instead of sitting down with him and pushing their agenda.  They could actually get some of their agenda in the bills.  Trump isn't a politician, he is a business man and knows the benefits of give and take.  They could really be involved in the changes to Health Care.  Everyone knows that Obama Care is in the midst of full failure without massive change.  Instead they want to sit it out and use it for Political purposes.  The American People just want things done.  The Republicans are the same way.  They would rather do things without the Democrats. 

Democrats and Republicans need to pull their collective heads out of their asses and work together.

The Democrats need to get over the fact that they are the minority party and lost the Presidency.  They need to tell the President and the Republicans, "Lets sit down and talk".  Negotiate and give their ideas and reasons.  Then if you get none of your ideas in or considered, then complain.  But you can't complain if you don't try. 

Health Care is collapsing.  Anyone can tell you that.  It has to be changed.  How it is changed is up to the politicians in  Washington.  The Republicans can't even agree on how to do it.  The Democrats are just sitting back and saying your killing people.  If they would put away their party and just sit down they will get something done.  Will it satisfy everyone, NO.  Never will.  This is the perfect opportunity for both sides to get some of what they want. 

The Republicans need to invite the Democrats in.  Ask them to come to the table.  If they don't show up or refuse then you can show the American People they don't want to be a part of it.  Look at the President.  He has invited the Democrats to the White House for sit downs to discuss things and they have refused.  If you don't think the American People have noticed, then you would be wrong. 

It is time for Politicians to forget about the D or R attached to their name and think about the American People.  Nancy Pelosi doesn't represent America no more that Paul Ryan does.  Every state has their elected officials and they need to work for us and not their political leaders.

When Will the Media and Democrats Move On?

How long will it take for the Democrats and the Media to Move On?  Trump is the President and will be for at least 4 years.

They have tried everything.  The Collusion with Russia tactic, that so far has shown no evidence and a vast majority of people know it for what it is, a witch hunt to stall the agenda.  Obstruction of Justice?  The top two people at the DOJ recommended the termination of James Comey.  A majority of Democrats had called for his Termination.  Again, another attempt to stall the agenda.

The Democrats and Media have been in an all out blitz to discredit that the Trump Presidency is legitimate.  However there has been 5 special house races since Trump won the Presidency and the Republicans have won all 5. 

The Democrats Strategy of being obstructionists and just bashing and being negative appears to not be a winning strategy.  They have tried that from the day that Trump became the Nominee and have failed to realize that strategy is costing them.  They are falling into the trap of believing their own BS.  When you hear the News and the Democrats saying the same thing every day, every broadcast and you still are not winning, at some point you better wake up.

What they have failed to realize is, Trump doesn't care if he works with Republicans or Democrats.  The Democrats have a golden opportunity to be influential in the lawmaking process and the policy process if they will take a seat at the table.  Trump isn't your typical Politician.  He isn't locked in with any one political party.  He leans to the Right, but it appears that he can be swayed by the Left if they take the opportunity.  They have chosen to not be involved.  They are hurting themselves in the process.

What is the Independent Counsel Investigating?

We have heard that there is an Independent Counsel set up to investigate President Trump.  But what we don't know is what is it that he is investigating.

The Russian Collusion?  We have already heard from everyone including Republicans, Democrats, The Attorney General at the Time, Intelligence officials and anyone else who would know, that there is no evidence that Trump or his Team colluded with the Russians.  So why would be investigating this? 

Trumps firing of James Comey?  The President has the right and ability to fire the Dir. of the FBI at any time.  It was expected.  Democrats along with Republicans had called for his firing for months.  After Trump fires him they say it was because of the Russia Investigation.  But read above, there was no evidence that Trump did anything wrong.  Comey even said that directly.

So again, what is the Special Counsel Investigating?

Did Comey Lie in Hearing to Congress? It would Appear So.

The former FBI Director who claimed that Trump "Flat out Lied", appears to have himself lied.  Only he appears to have lied to Congress under Oath. 

FOX News:

“I woke up in the middle of the night ... because it didn’t dawn on me originally that there might be corroboration for our conversation,” Comey told senators. “And my judgment was, I needed to get that out into the public square. And so I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter … because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.” 

The admission itself was dramatic, and drew the scorn of Trump allies. Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, read a statement blasting Comey for admitting “he unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications.” 

Kasowitz, however, also said Comey’s testimony was incorrect.

“The public record reveals that the New York Times was quoting from these memos the day before the referenced tweet, which belies Mr. Comey’s excuse,” the statement from Kasowitz said. 

Though Comey claimed he didn't orchestrate the leak until May 16, four days after Trump's May 12 tweet, a New York Times article from May 11 appears to track closely with the memo's contents.

There are in fact striking similarities between that pre-tweet article and Comey's written testimony, suggesting the memo's contents may have been leaked -- by somebody -- before Trump vented on Twitter.

It should be pretty easy to match up whether this is true or not and by looking into the NY Times story from May 11th, the story already seems to follow the memo pretty closely if not exactly.  So it would appear that Comey is not being honest.

Special Investigator Needed for Clinton/Obama

Big news coming out of the Comey hearing on Capitol Hill and it has nothing to do with President Trump.

FOX News -

Former FBI Director James Comey revealed in Senate testimony Thursday that then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch directed him to describe the Hillary Clinton email probe as a "matter" and not an "investigation." 

He also said that the directive, combined with Lynch's unusual Arizona tarmac meeting with former President Bill Clinton, led him to make his independent announcement regarding the Clinton email probe last July. 

In his closely watched Senate Intelligence Committee testimony otherwise devoted to discussing the circumstances of his firing, Comey said that tarmac meeting was a "deciding factor" in his decision to act alone to update the public on the Clinton probe -- and protect the bureau's reputation. 

"There were other things, significant items," he added, citing how "the Attorney General directed me not to call it an investigation and call it a matter—which confused me."

“That was one of the bricks in the load that I needed to step away from the department,” Comey said, later adding he was concerned Lynch was trying to align the DOJ’s comments with the way the campaign was talking about the probe. “That gave me a queasy feeling,” he said.

Lynch and former President Bill Clinton met on a tarmac in Phoenix, Ariz. on June 27, 2016, which immediately raised questions about whether she—or the Justice Department—could be impartial in the Hillary Clinton email investigation. Days later, Comey called Hillary Clinton’s actions “extremely careless” but declined to recommend charges.

 So it would appear that the former AG was trying to stop the investigation and obstruct Justice.  There is more evidence against the former AG and the Obama Administration than there is of Trump and the Russians.

Russia and the American Election

It seems that the entire Government is up in arms that the Russians might have interfered in the U.S. Elections.  Never mind the still unsubstantiated collusion part.  We will discuss that if there is every any evidence that it actually might have possibly could have happened.

Obama and the Left was outraged that a Foreign Government like the Russians may have been involved in trying to interfere.  WOW! What a bunch of Meanies.  How dare they!

Wait?  Hasn't the United States been involved in many elections of Foreign Governments?  Haven't we tried to tilt elections in favor of the Candidate that we wanted elected?

LA Times 12/13/2016-

The U.S. has a long history of attempting to influence presidential elections in other countries – it’s done so as many as 81 times between 1946 and 2000, according to a database amassed by political scientist Dov Levin of Carnegie Mellon University.

That number doesn’t include military coups and regime change efforts following the election of candidates the U.S. didn’t like, notably those in Iran, Guatemala and Chile. Nor does it include general assistance with the electoral process, such as election monitoring.

WNYC.org

For decades, American intelligence agencies have historically used clandestine tactics to put leaders into office who are favorable to U.S. national interests. This practice of meddling dates back to the early days of the CIA and was seen as a necessary strategy to contain the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

It’s something Tim Weiner has explored in great detail. He’s won the Pulitzer Prize for his work on clandestine national security programs, and his books include "Enemies: A History of the FBI" and "Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA.” He says election meddling is not a grey area for the CIA.

“Several months after the CIA was created in 1947, it set out to steal the Italian election in 1948 to support the Christian Democrats who were pro-American, against the socialist Democrats, who were pro-Moscow, and they won,” says Weiner. “It’s just the beginning of a long, long story.”

NPR.org - 12/22/206

This is hardly the first time a country has tried to influence the outcome of another country's election. The U.S. has done it, too, by one expert's count, more than 80 times worldwide between 1946 and 2000. That expert is Dov Levin of Carnegie Mellon University. I asked him to tell me about one election where U.S. intervention likely made a difference in the outcome.

So as you can see this isn't all that uncommon and not this earth shattering event as the Media and Washington would have you believe.  So why all the uproar?

Been a While, Time to Catch Up

A lot of things have happened since I last posted.

The world has really changed and it has gotten completely out of control.  Time to catch up.