Take me out to the ball game

     About 55 years ago, living in Toledo, I drove with my boss up to 
Detroit for a baseball game. My convertible sports car seemed pretty snazzy at the time. 

     We parked on a street near the stadium, greeted by city kids telling us someone will steal my tires. Don had heard of such things. 

     They're stealing more than tires in Oakland, California's version of Detroit. More than 200 businesses have gone on a temporary strike, saying crime threatens their existence. 

     Restaurant customers weigh going out to dinner against the risk of getting their vehicle broken into. Countless businesses have closed. 

     That is happening in many blue (Democrat) cities. Shoplifting is up all over America resulting in theft or damage. 

     No use providing figures. They say crime is severely underreported. Reporting takes time, and the police are unlikely to come. Owners also fear their insurance may be canceled. Okay. A figure. In 2022, losses came to $112.1 billion. Reported.

     Many say the responsibility belongs to local government, an "institutional competency that isn't always there." 

     There are answers: more police on the street, safer places for customers to park, more security cameras and more investment in job training. But don't look for blue cities to do any of that. They are patiently waiting for Marxism to take hold. Then! We will see police on the streets...lots of them.

     I don't remember who won the ball game, but Don and I found our car untouched, and we gratefully stole out of Detroit. 

            Jimmy