My Question for the Day

My husband is from Philadelphia. I'd feel safer there than in Baghdad because atleast I'd know which cheese steak sandwich stands could withstand a mortar blast.

1. Philadelphia.

2. The federal government is either ignoring or doesn't care about the violence that is occurring in Philadelphia and other of our cities.

3. I don't go into the city very often, but while I would feel fairly safe in most area's of Philadelphia, I would have concerns about others, including some I have lived in and would probably feel safer in Baghdad's green zone.

yes I do because at least in baghdad youre trained and armed.
No I dont or they wouldnt be spending a half a trillion dollars and counting so far in Iraq and we cant walk our streets here.
Green Zone in Baghdad without a doubt.
good questions Carol

De M.

You got your comment posted before mine! If you have read mine you see, I agree with the proviso that I did not mention cheese steaks stands in particular.

Carol,

Good point about being trained and armed if you are in the military and stationed in Iraq.

Maybe its my patriotism, but I'd feel safer crouching behind a cheese steak stand than a falafal stand :}

" Do you think that the federal government is more concerned about making Bagdad safer for Americans than it is about making the City of Philadelphia safer for its residents?"

How safe is Bagdad for its residents? Wouldn't that be a fairer comparison?

I suspect the number of Iraqi's killed in Bagdad is 5 to 10 times greater than the number of American soldiers for any given time period.

The Federal Government has no constitutional role in providing local police.

Yeah your question points up a couple of valid things, in my view. One, Bush did say from the outset this was not going to be a quick war. People are so used to life being fastpaced and being able to turn something off if they don't like it (t.v., computer, video game), that they then expect all of life to work this way. Two, yeah it's all relative. I mean Washington D.C. itself doesn't have great statistics for murder, so one could say Bush cares more for Baghdad than he does for his own city. There are always these ironies where fickle fate rewards one and punishes another. Obviously, I really don't have an answer to your questions, but I will try here.

1.)living in Philly.
2.)no.
3.)Baghdad.

Wm H.

Neither does Federal Government have any constitutional role in providing for the safety of resident of foreign countries. As Philadelphia's Commissionor of Police noted yesterday it not simply a matter of police presence, the lack of such presence is not the cause of violence,. It can at best prevent it being committed by those who fear getting caught.

"Neither does Federal Government have any constitutional role in providing for the safety of resident of foreign countries."

On this you will get no argument from me.

WM H.

Nice to know we agree on that point. The Constitution was established to promote the general welfare, and while I would not like to see federal troops patrolling the street of Philadephia, the problem of domestic violence could be greatly reduced by the federally government doing more to attack poverty and unemployment instead of spending so much money in Iraq.

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America."

It has always seemed to me that the only aspect of this on which there is any consensus is the "provide for the common defense" part. Our military adventurism in Iraq seems to be sending that consensus to the dumpster as well.

WM. H.

Our military adventurism in iraq has also made in "Insuring domestic Tranquitiy" one of its victims.

1) Phrased in this manner, I'd rather be in Philly. In the military, the strong survive, and I sure as heck am not one of the strong. (Stupid back/neck/head.)
2) Well, yes. The safety of the city of Philadelphia is a matter for the state of Pennsylvania.
3) Philadelphia. I imagine that there'd be many more people willing to torture and kill me in Baghdad for being American than people who'd want to torture and kill me in Philadelphia for being from New Jersey. Particularly if I were visiting both as a tourist.

Austin

In Philadelphia as in many of our cities, the strong having a better shot at surviving and thinking there is safety in numbers are the two primary the reasons kids join gangs, and gang violence is the reason a many of its victims are often innocent bystanders going about their normal law abiding activities both inside and outside their homes.

1. Quite frankly one place is as dangerous as any. It's a matter of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The only difference is that in Baghdad you know there's warfare and expect it. Otherwise there's no difference at all as far as I'm concerned.
2. I really do not know, in fact all one can do is speculate on this since none of us are on the 'inside'
3. Neither.

Jennifer,

The residents in many of the neighforhoods in our cities, also expect it, and dive for cover when they hear anything resembling a gun shot even if they are in their own homes, and particulary if they are on ground level.

" 89 Coalition forces killed in Baghdad, Iraq "

This is a bit selfish don't you think?

You completely gloss over the fact that 104 Iraqi civilians probably died in the first 5 minutes of 2007.

I guess the better question is where would you feel safer as a civilian

It amazes me to see how routinely we give NO consideration to the horrendous plight that we're putting the Iraqi people through.

Never hurts to show some sympathy towards the people whose slaughter we've created.

motombo r.,

The point of in publishing this article was to highlight violence that civilians in the U.S. face compared to the dangers faced by our military in Iraq, and the fact that our federal government is no where near as concerned about the violence in the United State as is it about the violence in a foreign country.

I don't think the violence suffered by Iraqi civilians is the reason our military is still in Iraq, the only real interest Bush and company are at all concerned about it is because the threat of greater violence in Iraq threatens the supply of Iraqi oil and the profits that are reaped from that and the profits that would be reaped by the likes of Haliburton if our tax dollars were spent abroad rather than at home. If Iraq is stabilized in the near future I think the citizens of Baghdad may well end up with better housing than millions of citizens of the United States.

I feel for the people of Iraq, but I feel more for the residents of America who fear for the lives of their children every time those children walk out the door and when the lie in bed asleep.

The deaths of those in Iraq this year do not represent the totals we've seen; I don't think 91 days is necessarily indicative of the total (also compare the # of soldiers in Iraq with the number of people in Philadelphis), so I don't feel I have enough or complete enough data to answer your questions.

However, I would say that that many deaths in one city (and likely similar rates in other cities in this country) makes a strong argument that our President's priorities are sadly out of whack. The safety and well being of the citizens of this country should be his top priority, from the children sleeping in neighborhoods where gunfire repeated sounds to the soldiers in foreign lands without the resources necessary to be properly protected to those struggling to rebuild their lives in Louisiana.

Stephanie,

Thank you and my compliments for seeing the priority issue that so many fail to see. The problem reminds of the song from the musical "Hair" the has a line in it about caring for strangers but not the friend in need.

The people who occupy our inner cities may not actually fit the definition of friend, but they are fellow Americans and we have more in common with them than we do with the people of Iraq the failure of both the leadership of nation and many of our own people to consider their safety as important as the safety of Iraqis is appalling.