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Top 5 Most Dangerous Cities List Puts New Orleans at No. 1

CitizenSugar — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:30:45 -0800

With a murder every 40 hours, New Orleans crime rate is hard to beat. The latest City Crime Rankings looked at reported incidents of six major crimes to determine the most dangerous dwellings in the US. With a population of only 250,000 that changed drastically after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans came out on top.

Rounding out the list, the top-five cities with the highest crime rate include:

New Orleans, LA
Camden, NJ
Detroit, MI
St. Louis, MO
Oakland, CA

The FBI warns that ranking cities head-to-head fails to paint a realistic picture. In addition, local mayors and law enforcement officials maintain that such a superficial ranking irresponsibly misuses crime data by ignoring complex factors. Do you think rankings of the most dangerous cities help hold law enforcement accountable or are they counterproductive?

Source

Sex Offenders Get Scarlet Pumpkin for Halloween

LibertySugar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:53 -0700

As part of their parole, Maryland sex offenders must display a pumpkin sign that states "No candy at this residence." Along with posting the warning sign, the violent and child-sex offenders must also stay in their homes on Halloween, keep the lights off, and not answer the door. The state has distributed warnings to families, telling them to stay away from homes with the pumpkins.

The ACLU is currently challenging an identical Missouri law, claiming the provisions are too vague to enforce and add punishment to sentences already served. While parents and the community must protect children, do you think rehabilitated sex-offenders have a right to some privacy? Does fear go too far in trampling the rights of these ex-cons, or did they give up those rights?

Obama Draws a Crowd of 100,000 in St. Louis

CitizenSugar — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:07:50 -0700

A crowd estimated by police to number 100,000 came out to an Obama rally in St. Louis, MO today. Standing before the crowd, Obama said, "What a magnificent sight. All I can say is, wow!" The sea of supporters collected under the St. Louis Gateway Arch the nation's tallest monument. The rally doesn't rival his largest, 200,000 in Berlin, but beats the 84,000 who heard him give his acceptance speech at the convention in August.

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Missouri County Posts Meth Lab Locations Online: Good Idea?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:45:51 -0700

If you're looking to move, chances are you suss out a neighborhood first: schools, crime rates, sex offenders nearby, and the like. If you live in Jefferson County, MO, you can add another criteria to your info gathering: whether a meth lab is located nearby. Not limited to hardcore crack houses, the sheriff's department is listing places where it's seized any materials tied to meth production that indicate a past presence of a secret drug lab in the past two years. Real estate agents are thrilled by the new development though schools and house size still top the list of important area details. With the release of the info however, nearby homeowners might worry that the released info could wreak havoc on their own home's value. The sheriff says, "We keep raising the bar on awareness. You either do something about it, or you stick your head in the sand." Jefferson County has one of the worst meth problems in the United States. The state of Missouri recorded 770 meth-lab incidents in the first six months of this year. Is their criteria too broad? Should a house be listed as a meth lab just for having evidence gathered? Is privacy at stake or is this progressive crime fighting?Source

Missouri County Posts Meth Lab Locations Online: Good Idea?

Privacy's at stake. Crime details shouldn't be on the web, it's a threat to the area.

Progressive crime fighting! Good for them for getting the info in the open and accessible.

Other. I'll tell you my opinion in the comments.

Bye Bye Budweiser! American King of Beers Now Belgian

LibertySugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:00:21 -0700

Belgium's government collapsed today, but at least they can drink away their sorrows. An American treasure — Budweiser beer — is now Belgian. Perhaps baseball or apple pie will leave us next. For $52 billion Belgian company InBev purchased Anheuser-Busch, pledging to keep the North American headquarters in St. Louis, while cutting $1.5 billion in costs.

The King's defection hits no place harder than its birthplace St. Louis, MO. Anheuser-Busch's reign in the Midwest city dates back to a brewery founded in 1852. If you're keeping track, InBev's first brewery was founded in 1366.

For more on Anheiser-Busch's American legacy, and what my grandparents in St. Louis have to say about this "rotten deal"

Vigilante Drug Arrests Clean Up MO Town — Under Fake Badge

CitizenSugar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:56:56 -0700

It was a small town overrun by meth, until a new sheriff came to town — a federal agent who immediately started ransacking houses, cuffing people and naming names. It seemed like the town of Gerald, MO, known as "a meth capital of the United States" was getting a big makeover of the law and order variety. Except for one tiny problem: the "law" part of that equation wasn't exactly legal.

Known by the locals as "Sergeant Bill," the new officer assured residents that no search warrants were needed because he worked for the Feds. After the local weekly paper made a couple of inquiries into the matter, the reign of justice by Sergeant Bill, crumbled. The Sergeant wasn't any kind of federal agent — Bill, it seems, is actually Bill A. Jakob, an unemployed trucking company owner from a few towns over. To see the rest of Sergeant Bill's story,

Will There Be a Madame Vice President Not Named Hillary?

LibertySugar — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:00:00 -0700

Three women, none named Hillary Clinton, are on Politico's short list of potential Barack Obama running mates. They include: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.

They all bring red state credentials, have avoided focusing on gender during their campaigns, and are not considered polarizing figures by Republicans in their home states.

For some background info on each potential running mate,

Car Salesman Offers Gas or Gun With Purchase. Your Choice?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:45:53 -0700

With all the news of car trade-ins, it was really only a matter of time before dealerships got creative with promotions. One in Missouri is drawing customers with a choice of a free gift — $250 bucks in fuel for your new ride, or a free semiautomatic handgun. The dealer who dreamed up the incentive says it's really about protecting yourself in tough economic times. "It's a choice — protection or gas. We got high gas prices, theft, carjackings, innocent people getting hurt." So which option is winning?"Right now we're running 80 percent toward the gun," said the salesman behind the promotion. (I wonder if the lady in this pic chose the piece over the pump too?) Apparently the firepower isn't a novelty for his customers. "I get in a vehicle to bid a trade, there are guns in the seats, guns in the back windows. Everybody has a gun — there's no backlash."One customer said, "Love guns, we all need to have guns. Guns or gas or fuel, I'll take the gun anytime." The dealership makes it all legal by handing out a certificate for the gun — the customer has to pass the background check on his own. The local police chief is OK with the promotion — just as long as the weapons aren't handed out at the dealership.Is this harebrained or brilliant? Is there a problem with making a semiautomatic gun a gift-with-purchase? Which would you pick?Source

Car Salesman Offers Gas or Gun With Purchase. Your Choice?

Come on! The gas. The last thing we need is more firepower on the streets

Not sure, but imagine someone in a Prius with a semiautomatic on the front seat? Hot.

The gun. Why not? If it's all legal, the man makes a point. We all need protection.

Neither/both/other. I gotta tell you what I'm thinking in the comments.

Ad-Rageous: San Francisco Values a No-No in Republican Race

CitizenSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:30:10 -0700

The Republican Party loves values, unless they're of the "wearing-Spandex-ritzy-party" variety. I did not know "San Francisco Values" meant "neon dance party." I'm clearly out of the loop. Check out this dance, dance revolutionary ad from Missouri Republican Sam Graves.

Get Flash to see this player.

OK, I get conservative social ideas, and I even jive with making sure voters know who's raising funds for whom, but y'all? I'm not entirely sure who would "approve this message." It's like a karaoke video with a much smaller budget. (Though I dig the middle dancer's cowboy hat!)

Hey Voters — Can You Prove You're a Citizen on Demand?

LibertySugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:00:25 -0700

Who gets to vote is becoming a partisan issue, just like who gets a vote.

Mostly Republicans in 19 states have proposed legislation that would require proof of citizenship at the voting booth. Not content with the strict identification requirements recently upheld by the Supreme Court, these states want to make sure illegal immigrants are not voting, and improve voter confidence in the system.

Democratic leaders oppose strict ID laws, saying they disproportionately keep poor, disabled, elderly, and minority citizens away from the polls. Birth certificates, for example, take weeks to get, cost money, and may be difficult to track down if they are lost or kept out of state.

Missouri's secretary of state estimates that the law would disenfranchise 240,000 citizens unable to prove citizenship on such short notice. That number could be significant in November, as Missouri is a swing state that will likely go Red or Blue by a thin margin.

Do we have to protect the rights of citizens who may have difficulty obtaining proof? Which is a graver risk: letting a non-citizen vote, or keeping a citizen from exercising the voting — the quintessential act of democracy? What if we could review votes later to disqualify non-citizens, while attaching stiffer penalties for fraud?

Source

Front Page: Tornadoes Rip Midwest & South, First US Aid Lands in Myanmar, Fighting in Beirut

CitizenSugar — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:57:24 -0700

Tornadoes Rip Midwest and South: Emergency crews are searching through the aftermath of violent storms that tore from the Midwest to the South and killed at least 23 people this weekend in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Georgia. In Oklahoma at least seven people were killed and officials said 150 people in the town were injured. In Missouri emergency crews are “ensuring that we have found any potential survivors or anyone unaccounted for.” The governor says at least 85 people had been injured in the storm. In Georgia, Gov. Sonny Perdue has issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in six counties. The weekend’s tornadoes are the latest in several outbreaks of violent weather this year. Twenty-two people were killed by tornadoes in four states in February, two were killed in Georgia in March, and seven were killed in Arkansas in May.

First US Aid Lands in Myanmar: The first US aid flight to Myanmar following last week's cyclone has finally landed in Rangoon. The US had to spend days negotiating with Myanmar's military government to gain permission to enter the country. The official death toll is now almost 30,000, though aid agencies fear 1.5 million could die without aid. Already more than two-thirds of the cyclone victims are yet to be reached, and agencies estimate that 100,000 have already died. Here's a list of ways to help the cyclone victims.
Fighting in Beirut: Violent fighting that has plagued Beirut, Lebanon, since Wednesday, broke out yesterday in the mountains east of Beirut. The fighting continues between supporters of the Western-backed government and followers of Hezbollah, the militant group backed by Iran. Hezbollah began withdrawing gunmen from the city Saturday evening, leading some to hope for peace after four days of street battles there. With the underlying political crisis still unresolved, the violence seems to have shifted to the eastern villages. Security officials put the toll of five days of fighting at 44 dead and 128 wounded.

Headline: Gunman Kills Six at City Coucil Meeting

CitizenSugar — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:24:44 -0800

Six people were killed and others wounded after a gunman opened fire at a city council meeting in Kirkwood, Mo., just outside of St. Louis. After first killing a police officer in the parking lot, the gunman proceeded into city hall, shooting another police officer and then entering the meeting room and killing three city officials. There were said to have been 30 people at the meeting, some saying they heard 15 shots, maybe more. Some threw chairs at the gunman in an attempt to subdue him. The gunman, later identified as Charles "Cookie" Thornton, was then shot and killed by police. The spokeswoman for the St. Louis County police said, “We have what we believe to be our suspect. We do feel like we have everyone accounted for.” Thornton was known to have a troubled history with city officials.

My Missouri Exit Poll

LibertySugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:34:06 -0800

I keep hearing about how Missouri is a bellwether state, almost always choosing the winning presidential candidate. The state combines Southern and Midwestern culture and has both rural and urban populations. So, I decided to do some sophisticated polling and call my grandparents who live in Saint Louis.

My grandma (Nana, 81) voted for Hillary. She says that Hillary would "hit the road running" as president and change things instantly. Nana thinks that Hillary knows the ropes and the right people, and after "eight years of bad influence" that's what we need. My grandpa (Papa, 87), a World War II veteran, really wants Hillary to win, too!

My polling data also indicates that John Edwards's late exit may influence the Missouri election. My grandma's sister voted absentee for Edwards a while back, and wishes she could change her vote to Hillary! What a bummer.

And finally, the weather is not so great in the bellwether state. My grandma says there are thunderstorms in Saint Louis, which may keep people away from the polls. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Source