Fascinating radio lead in

While driving to the coffee shop this morning, the radio announcer provided the lead in to two news stories, but by putting them in one sentence, he created a startling word picture.

"A stench returns to a Cleveland neighborhood and the President still hasn't made a decision on Afghanistan."

Stench indeed. And the smell of politics is overwhelming that of the dead bodies hidden by a serial killer of women. He'll sit on it until he gets his way with health care, endangering the lives of our military and Afghan allies. The man has no shame.

Is it hate yet?

Eleven black women have been murdered by Anthony Sowell (I'm not even going to say allegedly since he buried them in his back yard) in Cleveland. Sowell was released from prison after serving 15 years for attempted rape. Given his current crime streak, I'm guessing that charge was a plea bargain for doing something a lot more serious. So I'm wondering, were these hate crimes? Did he speak hate speech before he strangled and raped them? If Sowell were white, or the women were lesbians, someone might call them that. But these days, even the grossest, most heinous crimes must be politically correct--unless of course, we've lumped the victim and the perp in the same box. President Obama jumped the gate immediately when his black Harvard friend was stopped by police for breaking into his own home and refusing to show ID when asked, but the murder of 11 Cleveland women doesn't deserve a peep because the perp wasn't white.

Fourteen women are missing within the city's 4th district. A victim advocate group and a councilman are demanding an investigation. It's a little late for those women, but maybe it will remind people--both relatives (who don't report them missing) and police--that even druggies and prostitutes deserve someone to care and a resolution of the crime that killed them, if for no other reason than to get the creep off the streets.

Michael Belkin has written a number of articles on this crime and others, and in today's WSJ had an article about Tonia Carmichael whose body was identified.