Why is there so much violence in Baltimore? Maybe it’s the lead. Or you could say, “It’s the lead, stupid!” There’s a lot of lead paint in Baltimore, especially in poor neighborhoods. Greg Toppo reports in USA Today. In the academy, a friend and I used to joke that one of our dim classmates had…
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Two nights ago I read Ta-Nehisi Coates The Beautiful Struggle: A father, two sons, and an unlikely road to manhood (Spiegel and Grau). It’s about a man, a black man, growing up in Baltimore. Despite the horribly sappy title, it’s neither horrible nor sappy. In fact, it’s quite good and is written with a very…
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In a comment, Timothy turned me on to an article by Liz Kay in the Sun, “No parking, Less Drugs.” Leaving aside the grammatical question (it should be “fewer drugs,” right?), what about the concept? They banned parking on part of the business strip of Pennsylvania Avenue to get rid of drug dealers. Apparently, it…
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So says Steven Levitt (of Freakonomics fame) about me and my book in his Freakonomics blog in the New York Times. And for that, I can only thank God. But I’m pleased that Levitt liked my book. Much less scintillating than a book by Whitey Bulger’s right-hand man? I should hope so. I was just…
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Duncan Kennedy writes in the BBC: Seven policemen have been killed and four injured in Mexico’s latest incident of drug-related violence. The officers were killed during a raid on a home in Culiacan, in north-west Mexico, police said. Arriving at the house to search for weapons and drugs, police were fired upon and a grenade…
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If you’re going to get arrested, try and wear warm clothes. It’s cold in jail. And no, you can’t bring your cigarettes.
Despite obvious failure, the Mexican president has vowed to “stay the course” of drug prohibition. As if he were standing in front of a “Mission Accomplished” banner, President Calderón says the murder of Police Commissioner Millán, is a sign of government success against the drug cartel. He’s full of shit. James McKinley Jr. writes the…
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I know he says he loves you, but he says that to all his girlfriends.
I know she says she loves you, but you have a job and a paycheck.
Foot patrol may not be right for everyone. How do you know if foot patrol is right for you and your neighborhood? Ask your mailman. If your mail is delivered in a cart pushed by a walking mailman or woman, police should be on foot. If your mail is delivered by truck, foot patrol may…
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