Detroit's City Council Loses Their Minds
Earlier this week, a suspect who was fleeing from the Michigan State Police crashed his Jeep into another car, killing three innocent men in that vehicle. This prompted Detroit City Councilwoman Alberta Tinsley-Talibi to introduce a resolution calling for tighter controls on police chases. Of course, she neglected to mention during her press conference that, according to an article in the Detroit Free Press, the Troopers in question were only going 45 m.p.h. and that they were a quarter mile away from the the Jeep at the time of the collision.
The only thing Ms. Tinsley-Talibi's resolution is going to accomplish is to a) get her name in the newspapers and b) make the next police officer wonder whether or not it's worth it to persue a suspect. I could excuse the first part, because politicians are always looking for a chance to see their name in the newspapers. However, the second part is dangerous.
Ms. Tinsley-Talibi should have looked for another option to put her name in the newspapers, but she didn't. As a result, everyone in the Great Lakes State is that much worse off.
Not to be outdone in their first act of sillyness for the week, the Detroit City Council followed this up by voting to deny the transfer of a liquor license so that Larry Flynt could open a Hustler Club in a currently empty building in downtown Detroit. They voted against the transfer after hearing an objection that was raised by Richard Mack, attorney for the Perfecting Church.
Mr. Mack argued that by opening a Hustler Club, downtown Detroit could see a decline in property values and an increase in crime. Of couse, he failed to mention that Detroit already has two strip clubs in its downtown. In spite of that, property values have been increasing steadily and Detroit is rated as one of the safest downtown in the nation.
I readily admit that a threat by the Hustler Club to file a lawsuit probably caused a couple of Council members to vote against the transfer, just to show that they weren't going to be intimidated.
I sincerely hope that the Detroit City Council gets its act together soon.
But I'm not going to hold my breath.
