Police state? What could go wrong?

Hey, maybe they could hire their own vigilante/goons to keep those undesirables from chasing away the shoppers and fine-diners! Remember, you only belong in their city to the extent that you're willing to spend money at their businesses.

Who's Whitcomb? You never identify that person.

Aren't these the same people who don't want to pay taxes? If it's so important to them to hire so many more police, please pass the names of those rich fuckers who want to pay for them to the mayor's office. Yeah, what I thought.

@3, whoops! I cut that part. He's a spokesman for SPD--I'll add him back in...

Barricaded streets, police checkpoints and a dress code. That's what we need.

Of course, the lack of police presence on the streets is also why the douchebags are running free & unabated on Capitol Hill every weekend.

When they attack an LGBT person will you "whine" too?

corporate leaders what a police state where any undesirables can be arrested wo/ cause. shocker.

If you're not a millionaire or billionaire, you're a serf.

After all, it's only when it impacts the former that it's important.

Geeeewhiiiizzz, imagine if the drugs sold at these "open-air markets" were legal! Then you wouldn't have people huddled together in the middle of the night, with weapons (which are VERY legal, but even the ATF is giving away illegally-obtained guns, so go figure), breaking the law. It is THAT fucking simple.
And while I don't care about your children, WHO ARE ALREADY DOING ILLEGAL DRUGS, legalizing drugs would mean those LEGAL entities wouldn't serve children. (Who would probably still illicitly obtain those legal drugs, just like they do booze, everyone's favorite home-wrecking, society-ruining murdering legal drug.)

@10 just watch the PBS series Prohibition.

Says it all.

Sigh. Well, at least this time you didn't call me a racist.

I know Cienna Madrid sounds like a complete asshole, being a shit to people working to do something to make the city better and spewing snark at anyone she doesn't understand, but in spite of all appearances, we should listen to her. She seems like a typical twentysomething jerkoff, true, but she's not! That in of itself is kind of amazing, don't you think? Yeah.

Pay close attention to Cienna and you will learn how to make the city a better place to live for everyone. She knows what she is talking about. She only seems like a douchebag. Don't be fooled by her obnoxious and ignorant demeanor. Really.

Excellent post, Cienna.

Again, everyone pay attention now, it needs to be repeated: Crime is down. It's been on a downward trend for a long time. Violent crimes are falling, even theft is falling. Has been since the sales of video games have gone up (no direct correlation but an interesting trend there). "Civility" is really subjective, to many these days it's "minding your own business" more than smiling and such, so to those morons whining about the small decrease in police force, even the police don't see an issue with it, enough said. As for the homeless, where would you rather they go? Here's an idea, open up your unused basement spaces for shelters, one building owner did and it's done a great job at keeping some off the streets at night. Got an empty room, rent it out to someone for cheap instead of raising rental prices so high only a few people can afford it. Condos, many empty ones in Seattle, lower those prices to something affordable. Really, it's not rocket science.

Same chamber of commerce SOBs that push for lower taxes. Now because a certain sort of clientele in a certain sort of business ($$$) is put off, we're supposed to play the violins and screw the homeless to spare funds for hiring official thugs. (=O=)

Three of my friends have been assaulted in the last month. All, like myself, are restaurant workers who leave work late. I never see any cops at that time of night. Not a crazy Nazi here. Just saying my opinions of this issue have been altered by these events.