Thanks to the way the Bush regime handled the aftermath of 9/11, with its state-sponsored pogrom-like persecution of "swarthy" folk (complete with indefinite detention and required ethnic "registration"), hate crimes against Muslims and people who appear to be of Middle East ethnicity surged in 2001. Crimes actually reported to the FBI (the tip of the iceberg) shot from 28 in 2000 to 481 in 2001. Muslims previously had been among the least-targeted religious groups. The actual number would be far higher, said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on Islamic-American Relations if Muslims in Bush Land did not feel so intimidated: "A lot of us feel that our patriotism is always suspect."

What is the profile of the DC sniper? "Experts in mass murder and the profiling of killers say the sniper who has killed six people in the DC area does not fit the usual categories, and that may make the case much harder to solve. Most mass murderers, for example kill to settle a grudge or avenge a perceived wrong, targeting victims who are relatives, colleagues or members of an ethnic group they hate... But the sniper in the Washington area has picked his victims seemingly at random, firing a single round from a considerable distance and escaping while leaving behind no obvious clues. He has used a hunting or military-style rifle... The profilers know that this killer is cool and cautious. They do not know much more than that." Note to investigators: this killer is shooting with military (or paramilitary) precision and efficiency. To find him, get hold of the records of veterans, secret service agents, and spies trained as marksmen. Overlay that with recent layoffs and divorces...

In a new essay, economist Richard Congleton points out the very real dangers posed by the Bush administrations overblown response to the threat of terrorism. While 2,800 Americans died in the terrorist attack of 9/11, each year, on average, about 20,000 Americans are murdered. In 2001, the risk of death from terrorism was less than one-fourth that of being murdered, and far smaller than the risk of being involved in a fatal car accident. Though the risk of being killed by a non-terrorist murderer, even in the worst year (2001) is at least 6 times higher than being killed by a terrorist, while the risk of death through an auto crash is 12 times higher than death by terrorism, funding for terrorism, when dollars are weighed against risk, is disproportionately high. It is little wonder that since Bush took office, the crime rate has been steadily climbing.

Major crimes decreased EVERY year under Clinton - and immediately increased under Bush. "The increase included a 3.1 percent rise in murders reported by police departments nationwide, along with significant jumps in the numbers of robberies, burglaries and car thefts, according to the preliminary FBI survey, which was obtained by The Washington Post. Overall, major crimes in 2001 were up by 2 percent from the year before... The reversal comes amid budget pressures on many local police departments because of rapid declines in the tax revenues collected by state and local governments. In addition, the FBI -- which has been deeply involved in major narcotics and gang investigations -- is in the midst of a major reorganization that will result in less attention to traditional crimes in favor of efforts aimed at thwarting terrorist attacks." Are you better off than you were two years ago?

Under Ashcroft, homicides are skyrocketing while he spends taxpayers' money checking under every bed for terrorist sympathizers. News of rising murder rates serves as a reminder that the last ELECTED President, Bill Clinton, presided over the greatest era of peace and prosperity in U.S. history. It will only get worse under the Bu$h junta, as all resources are diverted to the military-industrial-corporate police state. "Homicides have increased sharply this year in many large cities, a development that troubles law enforcement officials and experts who fear it may signal a return to rising crime rates after a large decline in the 1990's...Homicide has long been considered the bellwether crime, the one that most worries the public and therefore the one that police chiefs watch most carefully. A jump in homicides in the big cities led the crime wave of the late 1980's [Reagan and Bush Sr.], and a homicide decrease in the big cities started an eight-year decline in overall crime beginning in 1992 [Bill Clinton]."