Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Defending the Indefensible


San Francisco Mayor London Breed defended her city during a tense interview following criticism that the city has become too dangerous because of progressive policies after a tech executive was stabbed to death and a former fire commissioner was brutally attacked. 

This Blog Posting is not the entire interview. It you want to read all of it, click this link FOX San Francisco.

Mayor Breed said reports surrounding the death of Cash App founder Bob Lee were "inaccurate". "I think that oftentimes because of social media, because of cameras and how people are able to publicize things that are happening in a moment, it is taken completely out of context in terms of highlighting the entire city as being unsafe," she said. "That's not entirely true."

"How do you answer the critics who say the state that San Francisco is turning to state and federal authorities because, in some part, it's the doing of its own politicians and city leaders," the interviewer asked. "Essentially, they're saying the progressive policies are what got us here. Now we're turning to others for help."

"You know, it's sad because I think it's just San Francisco has been a target for so long and used as an example because we're innovative, we creative, we come up with out-of-the-box ideas and a number of other things to push forward change in our communities," Breed responded. "And I think that sadly, you know, with the previous president, it was a target."

"Some of our policies have been problematic, and we will do what we can to roll those back. But in the meantime, we've got to keep moving forward," she added. "It's going to take us some time to get to a better place where public safety. But we are not letting up."

San Francisco has come under fire from critics following Lee's death. Days after, former San Francisco Fire Commissioner Don Carmignani was attacked in his own front yard, slashed with a knife and his skull fractured by a pipe.

Elon Musk, who ditched Silicon Valley for Texas weighed in on San Francisco's crime woes in a tweet last week. "Many people I know have been severely assaulted. Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately," Musk wrote. 

Some critics have blamed the Defund the Police Movement. 

According to city data, the San Francisco Police Department is understaffed by a whopping 541 officers. 

An audit of state records even revealed the Police Department hired dozens of either unqualified or undocumented officers to tackle the surmounting shortage, according to a report published in March.

And although some city crime statistics indicate most major crimes have declined since last year, some violent crimes have trended in the other direction. 

Murders have spiked 20% and robbery has surged more than 13% so far this year, in comparison to last year, according to data from the San Francisco Police Department. 

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Alfred A. Montapert said, "Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress."

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Lagniappe: This quote has nothing to do with this Blog Posting. It’s just fun. Fun is OK. Do you remember Groucho? There ought to be a Federal Law that we never forget Groucho... “Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”
― Groucho Marx, 
The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About