With violent crimes on the rise in Madison, I thought this would be a good time to re-introduce our We Support Madison Police signs. If you've purchased one and it's been lost or damaged, we will replace it for free - provided you still have your wire stake. We also have a limited number of signs left from 2016 if you'd like to purchase one. We're asking a $5 donation to help defray out-of-pocket costs. If interested, hit me up in the comment section below. Now I have a question for you . . . A friend who knows that Steve & I are involved in supporting Chief Koval & MPD suggested I read "The War on Cops" by Heather Mac Donald. Have any of you read it? Or are there other books on this topic you can recommend? I'm trying to learn as much as I can about the ugly mess facing law enforcement. A mess the rest of us will inherit if it's not addressed. I know there are different pieces of the puzzle contributing to this problem - like a media that doesn't do its job, bad parenting, controversial educational curricula, societal breakdowns, apathy. But knowing these things are broken isn't good enough. I want to better understand the intricacies of these factors, as well as how those pieces work together to propel the current dysfunctional dynamics. But mostly I want to know how to help fix it- if indeed, it can be fixed. Because something's not right. I mean, the population of police critics & agitators is comparatively small. Yet it seems to me like cops are starting to assume a fetal position, and that scares the heck out of me. If you have thoughts or ideas on this topic, please feel free to start a conversation below (on the post on the petition page). By the way, we're still waiting for Mayor Soglin to send us the mayoral proclamation honoring the Madison Police Department. It's now been about two weeks since our request. I've been able to easily get proclamations in the past for avian welfare. We'll be following up with the mayor and will keep you posted. All the best. --Paula Fitzsimmons