Do you personally or do you have a friend or family member who works/goes to school/visits Madison?
Here's a primer on the current climate on State Street and other neighborhoods near the Capitol.
What percentage of the homeless in America are veterans? I've heard upward towards 30-40%. You can bet that some of the homeless making life hard in Madison are vets. Instead of whining (again) about "liberal Madison" how about suggesting something to deal with the problem of homelessness. Brian, what is your solution? or are just going to continue to point out the obvious on the back of other peoples work.
Some surveys indicate that up to 23 percent of all homeless are veterans.
You'll be hard pressed to find someone who appreciates the service and sacrifice of US Veterans more than I. Our society owes them a huge debt. Their service and their sacrifice, however, does not give a small percentage of them the license to break the law.
I know one thing that does not 'solve' homelessness. That would be giving panhandlers spare change. It may assuage <i>your</i> guilt, but it only feeds chemical dependency for the recipient.
Madison's tolerance of disruptive behavior on the part of panhandlers has led to the creation of a haven for many violent vagrants. There are now hobo jungles and shanty towns propping up in Madison's parks. School children and other visitors are harassed as they tour the Capitol. Clearly, Madison's live and let live approach to the panhandling problem has not worked.
Loitering and intimidation should not be tolerated. Probation and Parole Holds need to be enforced. Madison has brought this upon themselves and it will be up to the citizens of Madison to respond.
Until they do, people should be aware of the growing safety concerns there.
So the 77% that arent vets must be the "vagrants" you speak about. I'm guessing that the vast majority of those 77% suffer from severe mental illness which our health care insurance system does not cover.
This reminds of Rush Limbaugh who found humor in mocking homeless people in a radio bit.
I went to UW-Madison and dont remember the PD going easy on the homeless.
This seems one more opportunity for you to whip up resentment of people who are less priveledged than you.
Conservatives claim to put god at the center of their worldview. Was Jesus considered a homeless vagrant in his day?
West Side,
Pretty weak.
I'm not mocking the homeless. Nor do I find their plight humorous.
Moreover, there is a considerable difference between homelessness and vagrancy. Not every person who is homeless becomes a bum who begs for change to support their drug/alcohol addiction. And not every bum becomes violent when trying to shake down passers by for money.
Everyone in Madison admits that the city has turned a blind eye to panhandling in the past. This includes those who want that approach to continue as well as those who want the city to crack down on at least 'aggressive' pan handling. That Madison has been incredibly tolerant of panhandlers is not in question.
Oh, and not only wasn't Jesus a homeless vagrant, I'm pretty sure Jesus never roughed up a passerby who didn't fork over spare change.
"This reminds of Rush Limbaugh who found humor in mocking homeless people in a radio bit."
I remember Rush's "Homeless Updates". He didn't mock the homeless. He mocked how it was dealt with by various city governments.
Great point Crusty... it's too bad lefties don't understand the difference!
-cb
