Truespeak

According to the 9/11 Commission report our country is safer, but not safe enough. In that respect, this article from the New York Times is not encouraging.

CLEVELAND - Many cities with budget shortfalls are cutting their police forces and closing innovative law enforcement units that helped reduce crime in the 1990's, police chiefs and city officials say.

Nowhere is this more true than here in the Midwest. This year, Cleveland has laid off 250 police officers, 15 percent of its total force. Pittsburgh has lost one-quarter of its police officers over the last three years, and Saginaw, Mich., has lost almost a third in that time.

Elsewhere, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has let go 1,200 deputies in the last two years, leading it to close several jails and release a number of inmates early. In Houston, the police chief laid off 190 jail guards in July and assigned their duties to existing police officers.

In Cleveland, detectives have been assigned to patrol duties, specialized units like the gang and auto theft squads have been eliminated, and ministations spread around poor neighborhoods have been closed and the community police officers who worked at them have returned to patrol cars.

Our current administration likes to say they are making us safer, yet they are allowing this to happen. Where did the money they promised for our first responders go? Maybe to our needless war in Iraq? As I've said before, the war in Iraq is not making us safer. We are less safe every day that cuts like these are made. We need to refocus our efforts to secure us here at home. Stop playing cowboy and chasing phantom weapons on the other side of the world and actually make our security the most important issue.

We can not risk another four years of irresponsible behavior in the White House. We need a leader that will really protect us.