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New Orleans has now recorded at least its 171st murder of the year.

That’s 9 more than in all of 2006.

The latest murder occurred this morning near Armstrong Park. It was the 6TH murder since Saturday morning. Bloody weekends like this are called “blips” by Mayor Ray Nagin. Unfortunately, these “blips” occur with great regularity.

Nagin rationalizes being the “Murder Capital of America” by saying it “helps to keep the New Orleans brand out there.” There must be a better way.

People living in New Orleans seem to have become accepting of the daily violent crime (not just murders) as a way of life as it is in Third World Countries.

While I hear occasional expressions of concern about crime, most of that concern is about whether tourists will stay away from the city. Since tourists are rarely affected by violent crime, the concern has not risen to the level of gaining the attention of the local public officials charged with keeping the citizens of New Orleans safe.

Shootings, stabbings, home invasions, armed robberies rarely warrant more than scant mention in the local media. None warrant the frequent breaking news bulletins we get from the local media that we get when somebody is shot on a college campus in another state. Yesterday, I got a breaking news bulletin about a candidate dropping out of a local political race, but nothing about the two murders.

Apparently, the media doesn’t want to scare the tourists.

More as it happens. And it will.

C.B.