At the sentencing hearing for budding high school-massacre orchestrator Dillon Cossey, Montgomery County judge Paul Tressler took the time to scold the boy’s mother, Michele Cossey, for being so oblivious to her son’s Columbine-worshiping, air-gun-collecting ways that he decided to plan an attack against Plymouth Whitemarsh high school last October.
Tressler said the relationship between the boy and his mother was “one of the most unhealthy he’s ever seen in a long time” and that in two-thirds of juvenile delinquency cases it’s the parent’s fault. “This is one of those,” he said. He then called her a bad mother, while she “intermittently sobbed,” according to the Inquirer’s report. Harsh.
Of course, Governor Rendell’s gun showdown in Harrisburg today was bound to bring out strident Constitutionalists attempting to apply “It’s not guns, it’s crazy people!” logic to an excitable city in the throes of a murder crisis. People like former gubernatorial candidate Jim Panyard, who did God’s work this morning by offering up his conservative perspective about what’s really the cause of Killadelphia:
Traditional families are disappearing. North and West Philadelphia’s ghettos are as much poverty and alcohol soaked reservations as any tribal lands in the far west. Government schools are holding tanks and no longer provide even a basic education. Community standards no longer exist in an age of relativism. Over the last 33 years we have voluntarily aborted more than 47 million American lives, mostly the victims of “sexual mistakes.” We honor and worship what was once viewed as abhorrent behavior.
See? Even the most stringent gun laws are not going to make up for the fact that Philadelphia is a chaotic moral wasteland whose citizens are reckless Sodomites on the people-mover to hell.
But here’s the thing — if you strip out the right-wing rhetoric and thinly veiled racism, is it possible Panyard’s actually onto something? Given the state of the city, it’s tough to dismiss him entirely — and who hasn’t thought some version of his closing sentence: “All I know is the weight of a 9 mm. pistol on my hip gives me more peace-of-mind when I am strolling through the City of Brotherly Love at midnight than any political promise ever could.”
Some great news out for our New Jack Neighbors to the east, as Jersey’s crime-riddled barrel of stink, Camden, ranked 5th on the just released “Most Dangerous Cities List.” That may not seem great, but just three short years ago the city was ranked first. High-fives and fist-bumps all around. (Perennial contentder Detroit regained first by just beating out last year’s winner, St. Louis.)
Surprisingly, Philadelphia, which has been getting crapped on all year by the national media for its Quasimodo-looking residents only managed to garner 21st. Rejoice.
Detroit ranked most dangerous city; Camden ranked fifth [Courier Post]
Can’t say I read the Philly-based quarterly The Next American City very much, but I came across a piece in their current issue about why some big cities — including one whose name rhymes with, ahem, Killadelphia — are seeing serious spikes in murder and violent crime.
Well, I didn’t exactly read the entire piece (mostly because it’s way long and talks more than anyone ever should about Phoenix), but here was the part I found fascinating: According to some criminologists, Philadelphians may be whacking each other like it’s going out of style because we don’t have enough immigrants:
Several criminologists are finding that cities with high legal immigration rates — including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami — have stagnant or declining crime rates, whereas crime has increased in cities with a low legal immigration rate, such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, Milwaukee, and
Detroit.
Sherman argues that what drives immigrants to the country is hope for the future and that hope is infectious. The contagion of hope, hard work, and investing in education represents a new generation of people who are starting new enterprises or working for start-up companies … as Sherman suggests, rather than tighten immigration laws making it harder for immigrants to come into the country, high crime cities should provide incentives for immigrants to inject their skills, start-up money and work ethnic into otherwise stagnant low-income communities.
I considered calling Geno’s xenophobe Joey Vento for comment on this, but decided he was too much of a lunkhead to bother with. (Love your steaks, though, Joe.) — Tom McGrath
Meet Charles H. Ramsey, the former Washington, D.C., police chief tapped to be Philadelphia’s crime-fighting savior earlier this afternoon by mayor-elect Michael Nutter.
In July 2006, Ramsey famously declared that D.C. was in the middle of a “crime emergency” (sound familiar?) after 14 people had been killed in the first 11 days of the month. Ramsey quickly deployed 3,800 officers to various hot spots around the city, a tactic that seemed to have short-term benefits was abandoned after he stepped down in late 2006. Ramsey was most recently in the news in October, when he was passed over for Baltimore’s top spot in favor of an in-house choice.
So, will Ramsey be good for us? Ask a D.C.-er and you’ll get mixed reviews. Strictly from a numbers perspective, one D.C.-based newspaper reporter spells it out this way: “In his almost 10 years here, crime went down dramatically — from 260 homicides in 1998 to 169 last year. There was also a ton of gentrification in the city, which contributed to the crime drop. Since he left, crime’s gone up.”
But we’re getting ourselves a loudmouth, too: “He’s not quiet or gentle. He’s the master of the sound bite. I don’t think the city will be disappointed on that front.”
Yes, maybe he’s not John Timoney or one of “Bratton’s Brigade,” many of whom Nutter was rumored to be all tingly over, but he is, at least, an outsider with a mission to wake up an insular department.
Evildoers beware! The initial batch of Call to Action town-watchers will be arriving in their first crime-riddled neighborhood in exactly three weeks.
Ever since the “10,000 Men Call to Action” event on October 21st, the organization has been following through with numerous orientation processes to get its community volunteer groups ready to “peacefully” attack the city’s horrific murder rate. According to Norm Bond, communications director for he CTA Movement, they’ve had close to 3,000 people volunteer for three-hour nightly shifts to be “eyes and ears” in unsafe neighborhoods.
Bond says the first deployment will target Southwest Philadelphia, with North Philadelphia next. The group is still working out some logistics, such as official CTA uniforms (jackets or armbands are still being debated), and finalizing the location of a neighborhood rec center that will serve as home base.
The big question mark, though, is what the men will actually be required to do. Bond says CTA is still “working all that out,” but he did offer that they’d be doing a lot of note-taking during their shifts and turning over their findings to the police.
One of the many obstacles the organization will have to deal with in the upcoming months are a new police commissioner and a new mayor. When asked how mayor-to-be Michael Nutter’s proposed “stop and frisk” style of policing might affect CTA’s plans, Bond wasn’t sure: “I don’t think it’ll negate it, but we’re both trying to do the same things. We’re both willing to work together.” (Read: Who knows?)
But barring any major setbacks, this kooky little plan to stop the violence is actually afoot.There are still major issues to be worked out over safety (”working on it with police”), communication (”working on it with police”) and general approach (”still feeling those things out”), but they’re plowing ahead regardless. So, gun-toting Southwest Philadelphians, you’ve been warned. If the Call to Action movement catches you, you might get written up in a notebook.
Daily News reporter Christine Olley writes about crime for a living, but now she may have to move very, very far away to find a cop willing to talk to her.
At a press conference last week on the shooting of officer Charles Cassidy inside a Dunkin’ Donuts, an off-camera Olley, probably fishing for a headline like “Fat Cop Gets Shot Buying Donuts,” asked Commissioner Johnson, “So he wasn’t just going there just to get coffee? He was actually checking on that Dunkin’ Donuts?” Johnson was dumbfounded at the insensitive question, and an awkward silence fell over the room before the commish unleashed a verbal scolding.
The next morning, on the local cop website/message board Domelights.com, user “ArmyFirefighter” posted, “Does anyone know just who the EVIL BITCH was that posed that senseless, dumbass question to the PC? I’d like to know who she was so that I can contact her employer and demand blood through a letter to the editor.” Members labeled her a “worthless skank” and “complete azzwipe,” while another suggested a punishment of “impalement through you know where.” Persons of interest included the Inquirer’s Melissa Dribben and some “Hispanic female” from Fox 29 until “COMICBOOKGUY” declared that the reporter in question was Olley and that brass was calling for her termination.
Earlier today, Olley attempted damage control by posting her own message on the site: “… I realize unequivocally that the tone that I used and the way that I phrased my question was offensive, rude, and wrong.” Some members accepted her apology, but others did not. “Kate” wrote, “I heard nothing but smugness and disrespect in your voice, and it sickens me. I find your apology weak and insincere.” “Am One” wrote, “Don’t bother! And please do not insult our intelligence here. Your post is a sorry and insincere little attempt of damage control. … Shame on you.”
Reached at her desk at 400 North Broad Street, Olley said, “Oh God. This whole thing has turned into a big mess. I can’t talk to you about it.” — Victor Fiorillo
The Reid boys just can’t seem to get to their sentencing date without having even more charges added to their already lengthy rap sheets. This time, it’s Garrett (again) who will most likely go through a more thorough inspection — with rubber gloves and a flashlight — the next time he heads back to jail. KYW breaks the worrisome news:
Meanwhile, there’s been a startling revelation in Garrett Reid’s case. Officials say 89 pills were found in Garrett Reid’s cell on Thursday morning, apparently having been secreted in a body cavity. For that, Garrett will have to face additional sentencing.
KYW also reports that Garrett told the sentencing judge he’s not who he used to be and didn’t want to be known as the spoiled, overdosing son of the Eagles football coach. Clearly, he’s a changed man.
West Chester native Vincent Margera, aka Don Vito, 51, was convicted in a Colorado courtroom yesterday afternoon of two counts of sexual assault on a child.
The burly mass of goofball, best known for his mumbled speech, his lazy eye and his terrible hygiene as a featured player on his nephew Bam Margera’s Viva la Bam! MTV show, was accused of groping teenage girls at a Colorado skate park last summer. Don Vito was represented by attorney Pamela Mackey, who also represented NBA star Kobe Bryant during his shady Colorado legal troubles.
When the verdict was announced, according to an Associated Press story, Don Vito dropped to the floor inside the courtroom and shouted “Just kill me now!” He’s scheduled for sentencing in December. Be proud, West Chester.
This inspired confectionary masterpiece is brought to you by the blogger “The GayPatriot,” a former Philadelphian who chooses to express outrage (or ironic disdain) for the murder epidemic in the form of baked goods:
For those of you not following news from The City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia’s murder rate has skyrocketed in 2007 and is at an all time high. On Friday, October 19th Philadelphia’s death count due to murder hit Number 323. Thus, the cake marking the occasion for our visiting Philadelphia friends. We didn’t really celebrate, but instead derided Philadelphia Mayor John Street for his complete lack of leadership from the New Orleans-esque crime wave to economic development issues.
TGP is a pseudonym for Bruce Carroll, a North Carolina Log Cabin Republican who lived around here for a few years. Should we be flattered that he misses us or replused by his baker?
At the sentencing hearing for budding high school-massacre orchestrator Dillon Cossey, Montgomery County judge Paul Tressler took the time to scold the boy’s mother, Michele Cossey, for being so oblivious to her son’s Columbine-worshiping, air-gun-collecting ways that he decided to plan an attack against Plymouth Whitemarsh high school last October. 
Of course, Governor Rendell’s 
Some great news out for our New Jack Neighbors to the east, as Jersey’s crime-riddled barrel of stink, Camden, 
Can’t say I read the Philly-based quarterly The Next American City very much, but I came across a piece in their current issue about why some big cities — including one whose name rhymes with, ahem, Killadelphia — are seeing 
Meet Charles H. Ramsey, the former Washington, D.C., police chief tapped to be Philadelphia’s crime-fighting savior earlier this afternoon by mayor-elect Michael Nutter. 
Evildoers beware! The initial batch of Call to Action town-watchers will be arriving in their first crime-riddled neighborhood in exactly three weeks.
Daily News reporter Christine Olley writes about crime for a living, but now she may have to move very, very far away to find a cop willing to talk to her.
West Chester native Vincent Margera, aka Don Vito, 51, was convicted in a Colorado courtroom yesterday afternoon of two counts of sexual assault on a child. 