How Peoria, Ill. Got Caught In Matt Drudge's "Race War"

The Drudge Report is prone to hyperbole. It was birthed on it. Exaggeration and obfuscation with splashy headlines and duplicitous links are just part of the hype machine that has propelled the site since its early days in the 90s, keeping tabs on then President Bill Clinton's sexual habits. Despite the reputation, though, he can still shock, such as when Peoria, Ill. made the front page of Drudge last Friday due to blog reports of roving gangs of violent black youths shouting "kill all the whites." The city and its residents had no idea what kind of hype machine they were getting tossed into.

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Backpack Bomb left on MLK Day Parade Route

The FBI released this photo of the Swiss Army backpack and the two T-shirts that were inside of it along with an "improvised explosive devise." The FBI is investigating a bomb left in the path of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Spokane, Wash. City workers spotted the bomb Monday inside an abandoned backpack an hour before the parade started. Authorities said the bomb was "capable of inflicting multiple casualties" and a case of "domestic terrorism." Frank Harrill of the Spokane FBI office said, "Clearly, there was some political or social agenda here." There are fears that the bombing attempt may have been racially motivated, with Spokane and northern Idaho's history as being a hot-bed for white supremacists and violent anti-government activists. (AP via Yahoo, MSNBC)

Most Violent Cities List Continues to Be Misleading, Starring St. Louis

From Stagger Lee, a comic based on the real life St. Louis murder of Billy Lyons by a notorious St. Louis pimp over a hat. Lloyd Price liked to sing a song about it. (Comic Related)My hometown of St. Louis, Mo. topped the "most dangerous" city list again. Beating Detroit, Oakland and Camden, NJ. Of course, what people don't realize that in these studies they never count the greater St. Louis area (St. Louis County) but constantly compare us to other cities where they do factor in the county's data -- like Chicago which is part of Cook County.

This is not to say St. Louis is some paradise (good Lord, it is not) but c'mon? We're worse than Oakland, where they almost had a riot break out this year and Detroit? Last time I checked half of the city of St. Louis wasn't being retaken by Mother Nature. While St. Louis has a long, storied history with violence and we've had our fair share of senseless killings, it seems odd that the city manages to top this list year in and year out no matter what the fluctuations are in the crime rate and manages to beat out places that are far more notorious. The whole region is being judged for a few troubled neighborhoods. After all, the city of St. Louis only has 350,000 people in it. St. Louis County, which the city is not part of due to some long-standing county versus city beef, has nearly 1 million people. The city would disappear tomorrow without the money and people living in the county surrounding it. Yet the city is only judged by its dwindling numbers.

And no offense to Detroit, but c'mon. You know you're No. 1. (Yahoo News via Associated Press)

Rand Paul Supporters: Overreacting, Woman Stomping

Midterms are upon us! While most people are able to express themselves without pushing women to the ground and stomping them, Rand Paul supporters in Kentucky decided it would be cool beans to wrestle a MoveOn.org volunteer to the ground when she was, you know, just kind of there, doing things you do at political rallies. (In her case, hold up a jokey sign and try to give Paul an "award" for being a corporate shill.)

For most folks this is a minor annoyance and you shrug it off. Not Rand Paul supporters! IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!

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"Senseless" Shootings: Another Perspective

In my recent post about a shooting that took place in Washington, D.C.'s U Street Corridor after a funeral, reader E suggested that those interested in gaining a better understanding of the high propensity of violence among young black males should read John A. Rich's "Wrong Place, Wrong Time," which looks into the reasoning behind many of these shootings. The book reveals a web of violence, that often started when the men were young boys, where men get trapped into a world of fear, violence and retaliation.

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Things That Make No Sense: Alleged Gang Shooting on U Street After Funeral

Ashley McRae, 21, was not a gang member. She was shot and killed allegedly by her boyfriend. There were no other suspects. Her shooting happened after an argument between the two of them escalated into violence. Yet at her funeral Tuesday, tensions were high because allegedly different members of local gangs were in attendance and couldn't put aside their nonsensical, petty bull crap for a few hours to honor the life of a young woman, cut down before her time.

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Sore, Crazy Pants, Violent Losers

Health care reform passed so naturally some folks didn't take ending up on the losing end of the debate well. I mean, when the opposition is painting reform as Mediscare 2: The Socialist Scarypants Thingy, and you have the likes of Glenn Beck and other fearmongerers rabble rousing a few loose screws are bound to take this to irresponsible, illegal, death-threat levels.

From TPM Muckracker:

Vandals smashed doors and windows at five Democratic offices around the country in the days surrounding the landmark House health care vote Sunday night, and a right-wing blogger in Alabama is taking credit for starting a so-called "window war."

As I said early on in the debate when people were painting swastikas on folks offices, I don't understand how "health care for everyone" turns into a beatdown offense. At least during the Civil Rights Movement it was about racism and we're all familiar with how violent anything having to do with race in this country can get. But health care? You want to go all 1960s style spitting and rock throwing over health care? Were you just bored? What do you seriously think is going to happen?

Oh yeah. That. I forgot about that. People actually kind of believed that one. So ... we're all doomed. Sorry.

Video of the Flies

Image from GawkerWhile in New York I've been trying to get caught up on the news and learned about the videotaped beating death of Chicago 16-year-old Derrion Albert. Again, there's a reason why they make you read "Lord of the Flies" in high school to show children for the cruel, amoral monsters they can sometimes be. To essentially stomp a peer to death for fun and to videotape the whole thing is perverse, but not shocking when you think of how throughout history people have been drawn to violence and witnessing that violence first-hand. Per usual, I wonder where any of the adults were in this. One can't control their children at all times, but one would hope that they wouldn't raise little monsters who would murder one of their peers.

When Rhetoric Becomes Reality

Thursday Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi started to break down a bit while talking about the rhetoric being bandied about in the latest round of "not my government/president." She said it reminded her of the environment in San Francisco during the 1970s that resulted in the violent death of one Harvey Milk, an openly gay politician. As I've written before on the blog, many of the individuals profiting from riling up the masses don't care if there could be a lone nut somewhere taking them all too seriously about their fearmongering. It's all fun and Tea Parties until someone gets hurt.

Of course, if someone DOES get hurt I'm sure the great Round Robin of "Not My Fault" will drown the airwaves. Heaven forbid a fearmongerer take responsibility for their fearmongering.