Harry Reid Should Declare That The War Is Lost............

........... in Philadelphia.

Philly Struggles With Rising Murder Rate

By KATHY MATHESON
Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A bloody, bullet-filled weekend left 11 people dead across the city, where drugs and disrespect have trumped brotherly love and the murder rate is on pace to be the highest in a decade. Philadelphia has seen more than one killing a day this year, totaling 127 as of Monday afternoon.

New York, Chicago and Los Angeles - whose populations are much larger than Philadelphia's 1.5 million residents - have had fewer homicides this year.

The spike over the weekend was partly blamed on the first warm weather of the season. But rain or shine, Philadelphia police say the chronic problems remain the same: poverty, lax gun laws and a culture of intimidation that keeps witnesses silent and leaves shooters on the streets.

"It's the community's decision right now," Capt. Benjamin Naish said. "They are the people that must stand up and get angry and say, 'Enough is enough.'

They have, in a way. But the countless candlelight vigils, anti-violence rallies and community meetings have done nothing to stop the murder rate, which is 17 percent higher than last year at this time.

Officials, too, are at wit's end.

"Do something!" District Attorney Lynne Abraham admonished Mayor John Street at one news conference.

Abraham and others have criticized Street for a perceived lack of urgency in responding to violence that killed 406 city residents last year - a nine-year high.............(link)

While Harry Reid and the left-loonies talk about the carnage in Iraq, and have surrendered to our enemies, Americans may want to look no further than our own back yard, (Philly), where the murder rate, (per capita), puts the Iraqi violence to shame. The carnage in Philly is as complex as in Iraq. Domestic and political solutions have failed miserably. If it wasn't against the constitution, maybe the Dems would know right where to re-deploy our troops.

My good friend Dana, (Common Sense Political Thought) who lives in the Philly area has posted several articles on the continuing disaster in Philly here and here, and I have probably missed many more. I will look forward to his input.