Well, I guess we in the small, insignificant state of Alabama are not immune to the epidemic of craziness (to be more politically correct, we’ll call it "extremism") that seems to be plaguing our fair land. Members of a local militia group (and I can see the caskets of the Minutemen of Concord and Lexington spinning as I use that term) were arrested today. They allegedly are part of a criminal enterprise for making portable explosive devices and selling them. Part of an undercover ATF sting bought what are being called "homemade hand grenades."

This disconcerting news comes just a year or so after the lovely hamlet of Birmingham (or as the hip-hop professor, Michael Eric Dyson, calls it "Bombingham") was ranked as the "6th Most Dangerous City in America." These are clearly not good things.

As someone who recently experienced a crime against my property - admittedly, a minor one (simple B&E)- in the "Magic City" (or the "City of Trees" as the current administration would have us believe), I can certainly agree with the rankings. It's getting worse, day by day and month by month.

Our current mayor, Bernard Kincaid, continues to do a bang-up job for the city's constituency. While he promotes the pipedream of having a domed stadium complex built in the city which never has - and never will - support a professional sports franchise, the police force - several of whom I see in the course of my business - constantly bermoan the lack of support they recieve from the mayor's office. Again, one wails the recurrent "priorities, priorities, priorities!" If a city cannot be made safe, why worry about having a sports complex no one will drive into the city to visit?

When he was reelected in 2003, his vision seemed to be on anything but crime fighting. As quoted in Birmingham News, Kincaid reflected on what the city would look like in 10 years:

"I see our civic center being expanded, with a domed stadium," he says. "I see our having a regional transportation system," he says, one with park-and-ride lots, high-occupancy vehicle lanes and a City Center circulator or street cars to move people around Downtown." He did touch on crime - sort of - when he said: "It’s absolutely vital that we develop new housing, redevelop existing housing, stop this demolition by neglect." He said that creating upscale neighborhoods "is the only way we’re going to compete with the suburban areas. Safe, clean streets, living closer to work, protecting the environment – it’s a winning formula." Just like Lyndon Johnson, Kincaid know how to stop crime: build better housing.

More recently, Kincaid directly responded to the above cited city rankings by saying:

"The sensation and the hype about the statistics helped it sell books.The more hype they can get the more books they can sell."

[One leaps to ask the question: Why would ranking a city the city of Birmingham higher than, say, New York or Los Angeles, sell more books? But, I demure to ask the obvious.]

In a still earlier new report, the Birmingham News reported: "However, Birmingham Mayor Bernard Kincaid said the analysis of FBI figures is not valid because it relies on cities to report their own crime statistics accurately and consistently." Mayor Kincaid was quoted as responding to the News report that "There are several cities in America that choose not to report, hence they are not included in this bogus statistic." [Translation: "Some cities cheated; we’re only penalized for telling the truth. Etc. Etc."]

Birmingham columnist John Archibald recently subsequently took Mayor Kincaid to the woodshed about his denial of the validity of the new crime statistics. Archibald wrote:

"Kincaid said the publishers were just trying to sell books. He said rankings are flawed because cities voluntarily report to the FBI. And he said he and the police chief will use the same statistics for an accurate study...Consider: If you look at the reported FBI stats from the 98 U.S. cities of more than 200,000 people, Birmingham's 2005 homicide rate ranks highest in the country. Among cities of more than 100,000, Birmingham's homicide rate was second highest, behind Gary, Ind. It is fourth among cities of more than 50,000, and all the way down to seventh among the almost 3,000 cities over 10,000 population."

OK, as I read this we are now #1 - in murders per 10,000 residents. Either we have some really violent inner-city citizens or Birmingham is a great place to dump a body. Now, we have some crazy white boys making hand grenades.

For me, someone who lives and works in Birmingham, it is just downright scary. I think it’s time for the U.S. Government to "declare war on crazy." Just think how well the other "wars" ("war on drugs," "war on poverty," "war on illiteracy," ad infinitum) have turned out.

Oh, well, nevermind.