Bad Cop!

The common denominator among the New Albany City Council's "Gang of Four" is troubling, but the good news is that more and more residents and voters are becoming aware of just how obstructive and destructive these failed public servants are.

That common denominator is that they are against any semblance of order, community, or lawfulness in either procedure or the enforcement of widely-accepted law enforcement norms.

First, they attempted to appropriate the office of the building commissioner to ensure that the black market in permits (or non-permits) continues. Just who do you have to see about this festering sore?

Next, they fought strenuously to defeat, and when they couldn't do that, to hamstring any semblance of effective enforcement of other city ordinances related to property.

These first two, reprehensible as they were, were explicable. The Gang of Four were simply protecting their own property interests from rational and impartial enforcement. Their mafia-like backers must be very pleased as well.

But now they have their long knives out to slash at the police department. Can we assume that the Gang of Four is trying to protect their own or someone else's interests by trying to intimidate the police force? Racketeering and political corruption doesn't stand for long. All four of them are Democrats (although the council's lone Republican often stands with them), so they shouldn't be sleeping too comfortably with a Republican administration in charge of the Justice Department and the FBI.

Keep your eyes peeled for big, black Suburbans and dark-suited feds. They're the only ones you'll recognize. The undercover officers will blend right in.

Sleep well, Gang of Four.