This'n'That; February 4th[Hare;Duffy;Scumbag]

[Photos of the "alleged" Lil' Scumbag]]

That Ain't What Rochester Needs

[from: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/ click on columns; click on Mark Hare] Here's portions of his column:

The best thing we can do right now is pray.For Anthony DiPonzio, the valiant young police officer who is fighting for his life after being shot Saturday afternoon by a still nameless someone — for no reason at all. And for the city afflicted with so much death and near-death that it has been written off by many as hopeless.If you do not pray, you might want to reconsider. Those officers, all of them, need our prayers.And so, too, the city and all those who live in its neighborhoods. The perception — of a city occupied by an army of violent thugs — is untrue. But the balance could shift. The danger is real. There is far too much violence. But, as the police know better than anyone, those who turn to guns and bloodshed are a tiny minority, and always have been. There are small violent networks of (mostly) young people responsible for destruction and devastation far disproportionate to their numbers. And as they are arrested and jailed, others take their place in the streets. If the majority of our young people were armed predators, our police and neighborhoods would have been overwhelmed years ago.There would be nothing left to save. What is rarely noted is that the vast majority of families, even those living in the bleakest of circumstances, are struggling to survive and to do the right thing. Our community has failed to properly educate generations of city schoolchildren — which means that the parents and grandparents so often chided for failing to properly educate and care for their children were the city schoolchildren who fell by the wayside themselves 20 and 30 years ago. Yes, some of that failure must be ascribed to the individuals themselves, but there is no denying that the institutions we have built and paid for have left tens of thousands of children unprepared for higher education and for productive work. Yes, there are far too many people abusing drugs and alcohol, too many dropouts, too many out of work, too many who've given up looking for work before they've even tried, too many broken families headed by unmarried women, many of them teenagers.

Of course, prayer is necessary in all instances, both good and bad. The background for this crime is but one of thousands of nation-wide examples of failed social-engineering. How can the family be expected to provide even the basic social education to their children? Generations of the same families have been on the public dole, receiving and spending money they did not earn. Where is the desire or stimulation to do anything different than ensure their children are equipped with the knowledge required to take their [as they believe] rightful place on the entitlement rolls. One of the comments to the article on the website suggests gun buy-backs every weekend...... Whadda load of equine feces that is!! Sure, that'll get the old, broken weapons off the street. Sure, that'll get unwanted sporting weapons off the street. Will it reduce the number of weapons in thugs' hands? Absatively, posolutely NOT!! That wordsmith, Bob Lonsberry expresses like views far better than I can; please check his February 3rd column at http://www.lonsberry.com/ and while you're there, check out the archives!!

Mayor Duffy: Take Charge!

As Mr Lonsberry mentioned on his daily talkshow today [02/03; 11AM-2PM; http://www.wham1180.com/], Mayor Duffy needs to call a news conference, look straight into the camera with an unwaivering stare and say [something to the effect]: Every Rochester resident; every Rochester visitor; every thru-Rochester traveller: Take heed!! From this moment on, NO CRIME OF ANY SORT WILL BE TOLERATED!! You thugs have about ninety seconds to clean up your acts before the various law enforcement professionals come down on YOU "like a tonna bricks!!"

[I personally subscribe to the theory that if minor infractions are ignored the perpetrators will escalate their violations by steps until they're finally, if ever ticketed/arrested. As the police officials seem to be too busy to deal with the minor infractions, they will eventually be too busy to deal with all the escalating violations!! By minor infractions, I mean parking, jaywalking, littering, etc., violations.]

"Lil' Bastard" Ain'no Virgin!

[[This is an edited piece I found on the paper's website-different title, of course!!]]

A 14-year-old boy who lives 10 houses down from where a police officer was shot in the head and seriously injured turned himself in to police Tuesday morning in connection with the shooting. Tyquan Rivera, of 65 Dayton St., was charged with attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault, both felonies, after he walked into the Rochester Police Department headquarters on Exchange Boulevard about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. George Conaty Jr., the defense attorney representing Rivera, said he accompanied Rivera and some of his family members to the Police Department.Rivera is accused of shooting Police Officer Anthony DiPonzio, 23, of Greece, in the back of the head Saturday afternoon after DiPonzio and two other officers responded to a complaint about drug activity near the area of 21 Dayton St. According to police, the officers questioned a group of people on the street but found no reason to make arrests. Rivera is scheduled to be arraigned at 9:30 a.m. today in City Court. Monroe County First Assistant District Attorney Sandra Doorley said Rivera was being charged as a juvenile offender but would be tried in an adult court. He could not be charged with attempted first-degree murder because he is younger than 18. The Penal Law restricts charges of first-degree murder or attempted first-degree murder to those 18 and older. Had he been 16, Rivera would have faced a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, if convicted of attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault. As a juvenile offender, he faces a maximum prison term of 3-1/3 to 10 years. Rivera will turn 15 on Feb. 18. Rivera has not been in the Rochester School District system since he completed the sixth grade in the summer of 2007. It was not clear Tuesday what kind of education, if any, he was receiving recently. At a news conference Tuesday, Rochester Police Chief David Moore and Mayor Robert Duffy said many resources were put into the investigation and that there was no place for the suspect to hide. "In the end, I think it came down to pressure that forced this young man to turn himself in and do what is right and take responsibility for his actions," Moore said. City Councilman Adam McFadden said police approached Rivera's family about Rivera's possible involvement in the shooting. McFadden said Rivera's mother and aunt cooperated with police by speaking to investigators for a few hours and then getting Rivera to turn himself in to authorities. "I'm sure he must have been scared out of his mind," McFadden said.Shock throughoutRivera will enter a plea of not guilty today in City Court, Conaty said, adding that "the figure of this person, the aura (of Rivera), does not add up to what happened." Conaty refused to discuss specifics of the allegations because Rivera is a juvenile. He said Rivera was referred to him through a member of the Rivera family. Conaty said he initiated the contacts with police so Rivera could surrender. Though police say the investigation is still ongoing and the public's help is being sought, Moore declined to say whether he expected additional arrests in connection with the case. Officials would not comment Tuesday on whether the weapon with which DiPonzio was shot has been recovered. Doorley and various members of the Police Department were tight-lipped about evidence and the circumstances of the investigation that led to Rivera turning himself in, saying that the case was still in its beginning stages. "This case has to work itself through the court," said Capt. Lynde Johnston, head of the Major Crimes Unit.Duffy said that even though the arrest brings "a sense of relief" and "a sense of justice" to the situation, it does not change what happened to DiPonzio. "Not a lot of things shock me, but I have never seen anything like that," Duffy said. "This is something our soldiers face on the streets of Baghdad, having somebody snipe at them when they're walking down the street, but not in our streets." The sniper-style attack that the mayor described has shocked many, from New York Gov. David Paterson to neighbors of the boy accused of shooting DiPonzio. Doreen Brown of Dayton Street said she was upset to find out Saturday evening that a police officer had been shot near her house earlier in the day and hoped that they would catch whoever shot the gun. But when she turned on the noon news Tuesday and saw Rivera's face on TV as the suspect in the shooting, she started crying. "I'm just baffled ... my heart just goes out both ways," Brown said.Brown moved to the neighborhood in November and quickly became "neighborly" with Rivera and his mother, who live on the same block. She lived across the street from Rivera when he was only a 1-year-old on Sixth Street so she would often tease him about knowing him when he was a baby. Brown said he has good manners and added that Rivera was the youngest of three boys who live with a single mother. She was not sure whether he was going to school. According to the City School District, Rivera attended School 22 in Rochester from 2002 to 2007. After school year 2006-07 when he completed the sixth grade, Rivera enrolled in nondistrict programs and at times received services from the Youth & Justice department, which provides academic services to students in the juvenile justice system. St. Joseph's Villa spokeswoman Mary Ellen McArdle said she could not comment on whether Rivera is or was a student at the agency. But she said that the Rochester Police Department contacted the agency to discuss a "former client" who was part of the investigation into the shooting assault of a police officer. St. Joseph's Villa is a nonprofit children's mental health agency that works to help at-risk young people through various educational programs.

Apparently, this junior-thug has been in trouble[officially recorded] since the end of the school year-2007. There very well have been prior occurances that weren't discovered. "Rivera was enrolled in nondistrict programs and at times received services of Youth & Justice Department.........." dam' sure indicates to me that the lil' Scumbag had acquired intimate knowledge of the Law Enforcement/Justice system-at least for the last year-and-a-half. Whatta Hell kinda penal system "allows" those under 18 to attempt an assassination and not be subject ot the maximum punishment if convicted? This thug lived 10 houses from the scene of the shooting-so, by definition he had to intentionally get to the scene, "allegedly" commit the attempted assassination and get away.... sounds like pre-meditation to me!! If this lil' scumbag is guilty of the crime, he should be the "poster-boy for Capital Punishment!!"

Oh... an' didja notice that McFadden was right there runnin' off at the mouth.... anything for face-time.....anything to keep his money-grubbing social programs at the fore....

Til Nex'Time......