Neil A. Carousso produces NewsNation original “Kurt’s Country” – a celebration of country music and a slice of Americana with host Kurt Bardella.
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The Reality of Chicago’s “Carnage”
By Neil A. Carousso
President Donald J. Trump is dead on about carnage in Chicago and other American inner cities. The third largest city in the United States saw a 57 percent increase in homicides in 2016 from the year prior.
Since 2001, Chicago has experienced 8,384 murders, according to the Chicago Police Department. The number of Americans killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is 2,392 and 4,514, respectively, since 2001, according to iCasualities.org.
If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible "carnage" going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017
President Trump tweeted from his personal Twitter account Tuesday night writing that he would “send in the Feds” if the City of Chicago doesn’t fix the “horrible ‘carnage,'” a reference to his inauguration address that got unusually negative press from journalists and opinion commentators, like MSNBC’s Chris Matthews who shockingly called the 45th President’s Inaugural Address “Hitlarian.”
“Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public.
“But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.
“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.” – President Donald J. Trump, Friday, January 20, 2017, Inaugural Address at The Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.”
.@realDonaldTrump: "This American carnage stops right here and stops right now." #Inauguration #Trump45 #InaugurationDay pic.twitter.com/9sKxC3dEmK
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) January 20, 2017
Many would argue that the National Guard should have already been deployed to Chicago.
Chicago Crime:
There were 762 homicides in the Windy City in 2016 with an average of two murders per day, the most killings in the city for two decades and more than New York and Los Angeles combined. This is the largest spike in homicides in 60 years.
Chicago saw 3,5000 shooting incidents in 2016, 1,100 more shooting incidents than it did in 2015, according to the Chicago Police Department. Many on the political left point to gun control as a solution, but Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
Chicago police report that there has been a flood of illegal guns into the city. Police recovered 8,300 illegal guns in 2015, up 20 percent from the previous year.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel took aim at President Trump on Monday for the tone of his inaugural address and Trump’s call to reverse the “dangerous” anti-policing sentiments in the country.
“The most important thing you can do is create a relationship between the desk in the Oval Office and the issues at the kitchen table,” Mayor Emanuel said after a ribbon cutting ceremony in Uptown Chicago. “And I don’t think in the kitchen tables of America — and I definitely can tell you on Saturday at the parade — people were not talking about the crowd size on Friday. They were talking about jobs, education, health care, security.”
What the Chicago Mayor doesn’t understand is that millions of Americans in the rust belt and inner cities voted for Trump’s policies to create jobs, provide better education and opportunity, lower the costs of healthcare, and secure the nation from criminal illegal aliens and radical Islamic terrorism.
Instead, this Mayor makes Chicago a sanctuary city, not enforcing laws on the books by refusing to hand over illegal immigrants, who commit crime, to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution establishes that federal laws are supreme over state laws and policy. President Trump has threatened to stop federal funding of cities who do not enforce immigration laws. Case law shows a precedent for a percentage that the Chief Executive may withhold for cities who do not cooperate with federal law. Mayor Emmanuel is running a lawless city and he is not alone.
Sanctuary Cities
There are about 300 jurisdictions that “have been identified by ICE as having a policy that is non-cooperative and obstructs immigration enforcement,” as of August 2016, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. Jurisdictions include the States of California, Connecticut, New Mexico and Colorado plus New York City, Dallas, Philadelphia and others.
Courtesy: Center for Immigration Studies The Obama Administration implemented the new Priority Enforcement Program in July 2015 restricting ICE use of detainers. As a result, fewer criminal aliens have been deported. “A detainer is the primary tool used by ICE to gain custody of criminal aliens for deportation.” Under the Obama Administration, the “catch-and-release” policy has led to preventable U.S. citizen deaths.
“Kate’s Law” has been reintroduced in Congress by Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Kate’s Law is named after Kate Steinle, a 32-year-old medical sales representative, who was killed by illegal immigrant Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican national and convicted felon (7 convicted felonies), on July 1, 2015 in San Francisco, CA. Lopez-Sanchez was deported to Mexico five times only to return to the U.S. illegally six times. If passed, Kate’s Law would mandate a five year sentence in a federal penitentiary upon conviction for illegal immigrants who reenter the United States after being deported.
Steps to End the Chicago “Carnage”
President Trump’s goal is to lower crime in several ways. One is to increase support for law enforcement to do their jobs with the full support of the federal government with the goal of increasing community relations. Recently, the Department of Justice under Attorney General Loretta Lynch found that the Chicago Police Department found “unconstitutional use of excessive force.”
Former Chicago Superintendent Gary McCarthy believed the investigation’s outcome was “predetermined.”
Former Chicago P.D. Superintendent Gary McCarthy on “60 Minutes.” “The noncompliance of the law is becoming legitimized. And the police are on their heels. We’re reaching a state of lawlessness.” – Former Chicago P.D. Superintendent Gary McCarthy, January 1, 2017, “60 Minutes,” CBS News
Video recording of police and releasing portions of video that does not reveal full encounters plus anti-police rhetoric promoted by Black Lives Matter and indirectly endorsed by President Barack Obama has led to apprehension and discouragement of officers from performing their jobs without hyped scrutiny.
There is also an increase of gang activity and violent behavior by career criminals. Former Superintendent McCarthy told “60 Minutes” that the Police Department knows who the gang leaders are and can apprehend them if given the ability by the federal government.
Poor education and socioeconomic factors contribute to the gang activity. A generational drug problem contributes to the violence.
Chicago and its surrounding area ranked number one in the nation for emergency room visits related to heroin use, according to a recent Roosevelt University study. The majority of heroin-related emergency room visits occurred on Chicago’s west side, home to one out of every four opioid-related hospital admissions in the state of Illinois. There were 2,113 heroin deaths in Illionois from 2013 to 2015; 1,425 of those deaths happened in Chicago. And, overdose deaths go widely under-reported. A majority of the drug epidemic can be traced to Central American and Mexican drug cartels that could be curtailed with the implementation of a border wall, increased ICE officers, surveillance and enforcing federal laws on the books.
Since 2009, 1 in 6 men ages 18-34 are either incarcerated or out of the labor force.
President Trump has vowed to implement school choice policies that will allow parents to choose what schools they want their children to attend in an effort to clean-up the streets and provide opportunity through education. Mr. Trump is also a believer in pro-business policies such as a lower corporate tax rate that will allow U.S. companies to hire more Americans in the inner-city communities for manufacturing and other jobs.
There have been 13 major job announcements by U.S. companies since Mr. Trump’s election, including saving and creating American jobs in inner-cities like Detroit with the auto industry under pressure from the Oval Office to invest in the United States. So far, over 1.2 million jobs have been created and saved and over $62.7 billion has been invested in the country by U.S.-based companies since Trump’s election as 45th President of the United States of America.
Featured Image: Joshua Lott/AFP/Getty Images
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Walking in an Army Veteran’s Shoes
By Neil A. Carousso
Rance Mangum enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 15, 1988, proudly serving the United States of America for over 5 years.
Rance Mangum at 34-years-old. “People’s lives depended on you,” said Mangum.
When he returned home to Long Island in 1992 from his tour in Germany, Mangum was homeless, moving in with his grandmother, who raised him since he was 3-years-old. His grandmother, who died in 2012, was his inspiration for dedicating himself to life of service. He spent 14 years as a firefighter, upwards of 30 years in various medical roles, including an EMT, EKG technician and a Certified Nursing Assistant in private Army duty in Florida.
Mangum holds a picture of him and his grandmother that was taken months before she died in 2012. “She made sure that I had my principles and know right from wrong,” said Mangum. “My grandmother says that you have to help others to help yourself.”
About 11 percent of the adult homeless population are veterans, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 39,471 vets are homeless on a given night, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Furthermore, homeless vets are younger on average than the total veteran population with 41 percent of homeless vets between the ages of 31 and 50, according to the VA.
“The transition [from military service to civilian life] depends on the person, their educations, their situations, their past,” said Mangum, adding, “Sometimes all a person needs is a chance, just a chance to start their life over. Just don’t look at them as a homeless person or a street person walking around, you have to look at the person themselves.”
Mangum, 62, recently signed a rental lease at a home in West Babylon, NY and is seeking employment in the MTA, driving New York City buses after he completes his Class B driver’s license test in December.
“We had a lot of training, because we didn’t know if we were going to Iraq,” said Mangum, who finds civilian work more difficult due to the lack of respect for military members by some employers.
“In the military, you’re in charge of millions and millions of dollars worth of equipment, you are, and you come back here to the United States and civilians look at you for a couple of thousands of dollars, because they don’t think you can handle it,” adding that some employers have a condescending attitude towards veterans who say they can handle tasks.
“Take a couple steps in my shoes.” – Rance Mangum, U.S. Army Veteran
There are 495,000 unemployed veterans in the United States as of the end of last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Vets over the age of 45, like Rance, account for a 57 percent unemployment rate in their age group. Furthermore, female veterans are more likely to be unemployed than males.
Mangum also suffers from some medical conditions, including a benign tumor on the side of his head. With much national discussion centered around the treatment of veterans at the VA, Mangum, who lived at the United Veterans Beacon House at the Northport VA on Long Island for a few months until he moved to West Babylon, said he was treated well and views situations in an optimistic manner, a lesson he has learned in his lifetime.
“Some of these [vets, living and being treated at the VA], you don’t know how intense it was in Iraq [and] Afghanistan,” said Mangum, who added that those veterans who “come back to the United States and don’t have a job, don’t have a place to live, have alcoholic problems, have drug problems and also have symptoms from post-war syndrome” oftentimes just need someone to talk to in order to feel better.
Carol Klein, co-founder with her husband of “Our Heroes Night Out,” supports homeless veterans by hosting gatherings at the Beacon House in Nortphort.
“Sometimes it’s just easier for people to say ‘well, I’ll give you a check for 25 dollars’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t want your money, I want your time,’” said Klein to which Mangum nodded in agreement. “I just say, could you please just come and spend a little bit of time with these guys. It’s all they need – share your talent, share your time.”
Klein’s brother served in the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam, her son-in-law is a Marines veteran and her nephew is going into the U.S. Navy this month.
Carol Klein, right, devotes her time and energy giving back to those who keep us safe. “Carol is a big part of happiness there,” recalled Mangum. “Everybody loves this lady, they look forward to her.”
Veterans are overjoyed when they receive visits to the VA and letters from people, expressing their gratitude and talking about subjects unrelated to the military and war. Mangum enjoys talking about sports, especially his favorite NFL team, the New York Jets, and even engage in civil political discussions and debate.
Rance’s first great-grandchild. Mangum has family he is close with, including one of his sisters, his two kids and several grandchildren, one who just welcomed in Rance’s first great-grandchild into the world. Many veterans, though, find comfort in their military peers.
“Military has a family-type situation,” said Mangum, who has befriended vets who he has lived with at the Northport VA and continues to keep in contact with Army veterans who he served with via Facebook. “I don’t care if you’re a Navy, Army, Air Force guy, you have that camaraderie of military person.”
There are 21,681,000 veterans living in the United States, according to the latest VA data. New York ranks fifth on total veteran population with three-quarters of the Empire State’s vets having served in wartime.
New York’s veteran population is highly concentrated east of the City, where roughly 20 percent of vets live on Long Island, where Rance has called home for the better part of 50 years, between duty overseas and private duty service in other states.
“Let them know that you care,” said Mangum about how people can help those who served to protect our nation’s freedom, sovereignty and values. “It gives them inspiration to do better to help themselves. Sometimes people don’t want to take the time to do that.”
One can get involved in supporting our veterans through “Our Heroes Night Out” by contacting Klein via her website.
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Independence Day 2: Donald Trump Elected President Against All Odds, Vows to Return Power to the American People
By Neil A. Carousso
In an unprecedented upset, Republican nominee, businessman Donald J. Trump won the 2016 presidential election, his first political campaign, over Hillary Clinton, being elected the 45th President of the United States of America by the American voters.
President-elect Trump shakes hands with Vice President-elect Mike Pence (R-IN) at the New York Hilton Midtown as they declared victory. (Getty Images) Most political pundits didn’t give Mr. Trump a chance to win in the primaries in which he had to overcome 16 GOP candidates in a hard-fought, contentious campaign in which Trump tapped into the anti-establishment wave with a successful nationalist, populist message of making America strong, safe, wealthy and great again. Trump was given little to no chance to defeat Mrs. Clinton in the general election, but the real estate mogul did so decidedly with a “silent majority” of enthusiastic Trump supporters, who voted to “take back our country” from a big government, political establishment which has teetered on corruption optics.
The President-elect received big wins in swing states such as Florida, North Carolina and Ohio. Trump shockingly won traditional blue states Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and was competitive in Michigan, which is still too close to call as of Wednesday afternoon. Trump also won in Maine’s 2nd congressional district, Utah, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina and Vice President-elect Mike Pence’s home state of Indiana. Alaska’s 3 electoral votes, announced in the 3 AM ET hour, put the Trump/Pence Republican ticket over the top to clinch the presidency with the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win.
This reporter covered election night outside Mr. Trump’s election headquarters at the New York Hilton Midtown, surrounded by enthusiastic Trump supporters of all races, ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds. As the night progressed and states like Florida, Ohio and North Carolina were called, Trump supporters cheered with hope for the non-establishment candidate, given little to no shot of defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton. The live reports are below, in a playlist, including interviews with supporters and the group “Blacks for Trump,” discussing substantive issues and their reasons for supporting the political outsider from Queens, and capturing the surreal atmosphere in the heart of New York City.
Featured image courtesy of VOA News.
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Nassau Police Puts Emphasis on De-Escalation
By Neil A. Carousso
Nassau County has revamped their policy to emphasize de-escalation of situations with the national spotlight on police officers’ use of force in the wake of a number of incidents caught on camera, sparking protests, leading to riots in communities like Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
So far this year, 776 people have been shot and killed by police officers, according to the Washington Post, which is tracking every death at the hands of the men and women in blue, whether justified or not. In 2015, 991 people died in police-involved shootings.
The issue of race has been brought into the national conversation about police use of force, but according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there is not a large differential between racial groups and use of force by police, not enough to make a strong correlation. The latest data available indicates that 3.5 percent of Blacks describe their most recent encounter with police to be forceful compared to 2.1 percent of Hispanics and 1.4 percent of Whites. Moreover, 44 percent of people who experienced force by police have had 2 or more encounters with law enforcement.
The Nassau Police Department’s major tweaks to its “Use of Force Policy” comes roughly 2 years since the Department embarked on the first significant overhaul of its use-of-force policy in more than 3 decades in the aftermath of a pair of high-profile shootings involving Nassau officers.
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WATCH Neil’s Presidential Debate Preview, Discussion & Analysis
As Seen On
Eyewitness NewsNeil A. Carousso covered the first presidential debate on WABC-TV New York by joining an on-location live stream, Facebook Live, hosted by reporter Kristin Thorne.
Later, Carousso reports from Hofstra University on Long Island, NY – the site of the first presidential debate of 2016 between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
WABC also became a pioneer when they live streamed a professional-quality hour long newscast, anchored by Sade Baderinwa and Bill Ritter.
Carousso was a field and social media producer for the #1 news team in New York City. His report on millennials’ opinions of the election, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has been published by ABC 7 NY.
