'I Understand That the Black Community Has Been Decimated by Double-Digit Unemployment, But We Should Not Settle for Just Any Jobs'

Indeed, why should folks in the black community settle for some measly job at Wal-Mart when they can hold out for that plum six-figure gig that sure to come along thanks to Barack Obama's wonderful economy?

Mayor Thomas M. Menino may be reluctant to roll out the welcome mat for Wal-Mart, but some Boston residents say they want the jobs and low-priced goods.

“It would be great for me,” said Robin Gibbons, 52, of South Boston, who lives on a fixed income. “I’d rather go to a local Wal-Mart than the nearest one in Quincy. I think it would be good in that more people would be working.”

The battle over bringing a Wal-Mart to the city is heating up. On one side are Menino and activists who have criticized the retail giant’s wages and benefits, while on the other side are city residents who insist the mayor should bring Wal-Mart — and its jobs and rock-bottom prices — to Boston.

Menino could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Darnell Williams, president of the Urban League of Massachusetts, ratcheted up the debate last week when he told the Boston Business Journal the city should “embrace a project that would bring jobs for residents.” Williams could not be reached for comment yesterday.

But Horace Small, executive director the Union of Minority Neighborhoods, an advocacy group in Jamaica Plain, countered, “I understand that the black community has been decimated by double-digit unemployment, but we should not settle for just any jobs.”

So clowns like Small, and on a larger scale, the clown Mayor Mumbles Menino would prefer people to not have jobs because of some stupid ideological opposition to Wal-Mart. Seriously, what is their problem? They'd rather pay more for merchandise? They'd prefer residents to just sit around and collect welfare?

Apparently so. There's no other logical conclusion.

In Dudley Square, Roxbury resident Monique Henderson said a Wal-Mart would be a boost to the neighborhood. “It would be nice to have it here,” she said. “There are lots of people looking for jobs so that would help out.”

Democrats pretend they want to "create" jobs, and then an employer comes along with plenty of available jobs and they block them at every opportunity. They're rather have people dependent on the government, but they just don't want to say so publicly. Their actions speak volumes.

Boston's 'Holistic' Approach to Crime Not Working Out Too Well

Liberal dimwits are baffled there's an increase in break-ins in the liberal mecca of Boston. Well, when you take police off the street, disarm the public and blame all your problems on the rich getting tax cuts, what do you expect. Do they really think making nice-nice with criminals and taking a "holistic" approach toward crime is really going to solve anything? Seriously, can these people possibly be any dumber?

House break-ins skyrocketed 24 percent in Boston last year, shattering the security of renters and homeowners who say they learned the hard way the importance of deadbolting doors, keeping lights on and eyes open.

“Keep your windows locked. Don’t make yourself vulnerable,” said Alison Smith, 23, a college student whose Mission Hill apartment was hit by two thugs climbing in through an open window while her roommate slept. “We didn’t really understand what could possibly happen. ”

New statistics show police need cooperation from residents more than ever. Home burglaries are soaring, and most of them go unsolved.

• In 2010, only 11 percent of the 2,846 reported home break-ins were solved. The previous year, only 14 percent of the 2,282 reported breaks were solved. Nationally, the clearance rate for burglaries is about 12 percent, according to the FBI.

• House break-ins jumped 24 percent from 2009 to 2010, and as much as 60 percent in some places, such as Roxbury. They were up in all but three of the city’s 12 police districts.

BPD Superintendent-in-Chief Daniel Linskey blames the bad economy for the increase, but urged residents to take simple steps to protect themselves.

Thieves get in through unlocked doors and windows about 50 percent of the time, he said. Keeping lights on when you’re gone and calling 911 when you see suspicious people can make a huge difference, he said. Police also recommend installing a security alarm or, if money’s tight, getting a dog.

I guess arming yourself isn't a consideration. Pumping some thief full of hot lead would do more to reduce crime than getting a dog, trust me.

Meanwhile, stupidity plays a major role. You take a bunch of teenagers leaning toward the liberal persuasion and drop them in an urban environment where they spend half their waking hours getting drunk. The criminals laugh with delight at the easy pickings.

It’s all part of BPD’s “holistic” approach to solving house break-ins, Linskey said. Home burglaries had been steadily decreasing before last year’s spike. So far, in the first 10 weeks of this year, house breaks are down 18 percent.

In a big city, where house break-ins get little attention, Linskey hopes residents know that police take the crime seriously.

“It shakes your trust in your neighborhood,” he said.

Victims say it takes a long time to get over the trauma.

This seems to be working as well as the "holistic" approach to home foreclosures. Come to think of it, if more houses are foreclosed on, there'll be less incentive for thieves to break in.

Pleads to Punish The Bad Guys at 10

Convicted of manslaughter at 27.

A Boston man who as a child made a plea to Governor William Weld for an end to violence in the city admitted yesterday that he shot a man three times in the back inside a Roxbury car repair shop in 2001, killing him as he ran for his life.

Originally the guy was charged with first degree murder but when the jury up in liberal land couldn't reach a verdict the prosecutor had to plea baragin down to manslaughter. People when you sit on a jury your job is to determine if the defendant is guilty or innocence of the charges against them. That is all. All this hand wringing and playing what if games is pure BS. Leave it up to the judge to determine if the mitigating circumstances warrant a less then maximum sentence. It seems too many juries now a days don't want to go for a guilty verdict out of some misplaced sympathy for the defendant. The defendant, in this case one who admitted to doing the crime, should be afforded no more sympathy then they showed thier victim. That probably goes a long way to explaining to why I may be called to jury duty I never actually get to sit on a case. The lawyers see me in the jury pool and just go for the plea deal.
How long before Boston declares themselves a "Gun-Free Zone" as a method to stop this sort of crime?

Good News: Big Dig Comes in Only $12.2 Billion Over Budget

There won't be much celebrating for this fiasco.

When the clock runs out on 2007, Boston will quietly mark the end of one of the most tumultuous eras in the city's history: The Big Dig, the nation's most complex and costliest highway project, will officially come to an end.

Don't expect any champagne toasts.

After a history marked by engineering triumphs, tunnels leaks, epic traffic jams, last year's death of a motorist crushed by falling concrete panels and a price tag that soared from $2.6 billion to a staggering $14.8 billion, there's little appetite for celebration.

Civil and criminal cases stemming from the July 2006 tunnel ceiling collapse continue, though on Monday the family of Milena Del Valle announced a $6 million settlement with Powers Fasteners, the company that manufactured the epoxy blamed by investigators for the accident. Lawsuits are pending against other Big Dig contractors, and Powers Fasteners still faces a manslaughter indictment.

Officially, Dec. 31 marks the end of the joint venture that teamed megaproject contractor Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to build the dizzying array of underground highways, bridges, ramps and a new tunnel under Boston Harbor — all while the city remained open for business.

The project was so complex it's been likened to performing open heart surgery on a patient while the patient is wide awake.

There should be one hell of a malpractice suit.

Speaking of which, the Boston Herald has more of the settlement in the Del Valle case.

Good News: Only 500 Big Dig Leaks

A victory for graft, corruption, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, union goons and Northeast liberalism.

At least 500 Big Dig leaks await repair

BOSTON - About 500 leaks in Big Dig tunnels are awaiting repair, and that number doesn't include leaks being handled by the project's contractors, according to state officials who warn that future leaks are inevitable.

Project manager Michael Lewis also told the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board Tuesday that the leak-repair program is "effective," and should be viewed separately from new evidence indicating water continues to leak steadily into the Interstate 93 Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. tunnel.

Repairs of existing leaks will continue through next spring, Lewis said, after successfully lobbying the board to add $2.3 million to an existing $5 million contract for repair crews.

In addition, contractors are expected to repair leaks they find. If they don't, Lewis said, the MTA will have to fix them and charge the contractor for the repair cost.

The board did not address an independent engineering firm's analysis that water continues to leak steadily into the O'Neill tunnel -- a section of Interstate 93 beneath downtown Boston. The analysis contradicted Lewis' report to the board last month that said water discharge from the O'Neill tunnel had decreased.

Leaks have vexed the $14.798 billion project -- the most expensive public works construction in U.S. history -- since it buried Boston's Central Artery in a tunnel system. A large leak into the O'Neill tunnel in September 2004 backed up traffic for miles.

Milena Delvalle was unavailable for comment.

American Trained With Al Qaeda in Somalia

Another homegrown jihadi.

An American citizen charged with receiving terrorist training at an Al Qaeda camp in Somalia — including classes in how to become a homicide bomber and "wage violent jihad" — was taken into custody by FBI agents and returned to the U.S. Monday night night, Justice Department officials told FOX News.

An indictment unsealed Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston charges Daniel Joseph Maldanado, 28, a.k.a Daniel Aljughaifi, whose last known address was in Houston, with receiving training from a foreign terrorist organization and conspiring to use an explosive device outside the United States.

Maldonado was captured by the Kenyan military on January 21 as he fled to avoid capture by Ethiopian and Somali government forces battling Al Qaeda-backed rebels, Justice Department officials said.

The Boston Globe reports he's a Boston native.

Federal officials charged Daniel Joseph Maldonado, 28, a Muslim convert also known as Daniel Aljughaifi and Abu Mohammed, with undergoing military training with a terrorist organization and conspiring to use a destructive device.

Maldonado, a native of Boston who also lived in Houston, was returned to the United States on Monday night and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. Attorney's office in Houston said. He was ordered held without bond until a detention hearing next week. Nancy Herrera, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, said she was unsure whether Maldonado had an attorney yet.

Although he spent only three months in Houston before heading to Somalia, the LA Times calls him an Ex-Texan.

UPDATE: LGF notes he had a blog. More here.