{"id":69954,"date":"2019-05-16T17:52:27","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T21:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=69954"},"modified":"2019-05-16T17:52:36","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T21:52:36","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-wednesday-may-15th-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=69954","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Wednesday, May 15th, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Wednesday, May 15th, 2019…but before we begin, let’s all take a moment to honor a true American hero:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Now, here’s The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

First up, courtesy of NRO<\/em>, John Fund relates how the heart<\/i>\u00a0of educated idiocy has had all they can stands, and they can’t stands no more, as even…<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Liberals Begin to Revolt against \u2018Rock Stupid\u2019 Homelessness Policies<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

In a referendum last week, the idea that vagrancy should be legalized was shot down by a resounding 83 percent of Denver voters<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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“T<\/strong><\/span><\/span>he more that progressive policies have failed to address the homelessness problem in urban areas, the more that progressives are doubling down on bad solutions<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Take Denver. The Mile High City presented voters last week with Issue 300. It was placed on the ballot by advocates for the homeless who wanted to legalize \u201ccamping\u201d in parks and in vehicles on city streets, including in front of homes and local businesses<\/em><\/span>. This was too much for voters, even in a city that gave Donald Trump only 19 percent of the vote in 2016<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> The idea of legalizing vagrancy was shot down by a resounding 83 percent of local voters.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Liberal mayor Michael Hancock said the city had dodged making a bad situation worse.<\/strong><\/span> Noting that tent cities had already begun already sprouting up in parks and alleyways, he maintained that \u201c300 would have created an unsanitary problem for the homeless and for Denver residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

…Every homeless person has a different story, and some<\/span> are truly down on their luck <\/em>through no fault of their own<\/em>.<\/span> But most<\/em><\/span>\u00a0(as in, the vast majority<\/span>!<\/em>)<\/span> are mired in a cycle of behavior that they refuse to change<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span> I once reported on an effort in San Francisco to encourage pedestrians and tourists to hand out coupons instead of money to the homeless. The coupons were redeemable for many things: a free meal, clothing, haircuts, and laundromat services.<\/span> Over the course of several days, I tried<\/span> to distribute such coupons myself and met rejection about 80 percent of the time<\/span><\/em>. Cash<\/em><\/span> was what homeless people wanted \u2014 and for you know what<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Allowing people to remain mired in problems involving mental illness, drugs, or alcohol affects the wider community.<\/strong><\/span> In Seattle, Scott Lindsay, a former public-safety adviser to the mayor\u2019s office, has written a new report called \u201cSystem Failure.\u201d He found that a mere 100 \u201cprolific offenders\u201d among the homeless are responsible for more than 3,500 criminal cases.<\/span> Often they are released from jail the same day they are taken in.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n