Chicago recorded another violent weekend, with 47 shot, including three fatally. Violence is a part of Chicago weekends (and weekdays now, too), but this past weekend was special in that the city saw shootings in 17 of its 22 police districts. In other words, individuals were shot in nearly every area of the city the past weekend. All of this took place less than a week after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the gun violence in the city was moving in the right direction. Her statement was further evidence that she is in so far over her head that she is incapable of telling the truth about the situation around her.
The Windy City wasn't alone in seeing a wild weekend of violence. Similar shootings were commonplace (but not in same numbers) across the country. In Milwaukee, just about an hour's drive north of Chicago, five people were injured in separate shootings two hours apart. Shootings and homicides are up in the city in 2021, outpacing the numbers for 2020. Cities large and not-so large report surges in gun violence and other major crimes. What's behind the increase in crime? Probably several factors, including mayors who refused to take a hard stance against street crime in 2020. If you accommodate lawlessness, you will get more lawlessness. Can't wait to see what July and August offer us.
Let's shift gears a bit. One can expect oddities whenever world leaders gather to address perceived challenges and the G-7 Summit conducted over the weekend in England delivered the goods. Here are three of my favorites. President Biden had tea with Queen Elizabeth and later told reporters she reminded him of his mom. And Biden interrupted UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to tell him (incorrectly) that he forgot to introduce South Africa's president. BoJo corrected Biden twice, but Biden wasn't buying it at first. BoJo raised some eyebrows on his own with closing remarks that said the G-7 should be "building back better, building back greener, building back fairer, and building back more equal and in a more gender-neutral and perhaps more feminine way." The guy cracks me up.
And back here at home, a federal judge recently issued a temporary restraining order to Biden's $4 billion debt relief program for farmers of color, stating the program included no provisions to determine the financial status of program participants, only their race. The decision received some media attention, but was lost in the shadow of the G-7 coverage. The decision puts the program on hold until the case is decided. The program was introduced in March and sparked a legal challenge from 12 white farmers and ranchers in nine states.
-- Thanks for reading. You may comment here or send an email to kbotterman@gmail.com.
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