" Thank god that these two criminals were from Cedar Falls so I don't have to read about all the crime that's committed in CF is committed by Waterloo residents. Now I'm sure there will be clarification from the Cedar Falls contingent telling us why these two criminals were really from Waterloo because they once dated a girl from the East Side or some such nonsense. Maybe Waterloo needs to think about building a wall to keep all the Cedar Falls crime out. "

" wow maybe we should build a wall so those criminals in cf people cant get to us here in waterloo! "

" The same liquor store robbed twice in Waterloo, now Cedar Falls residents follow suite... Seems to me that high gas prices & high cigarette taxes are motivating SOMEONE to do SOMETHING about it... Wish they would have picketed instead of picking the pockets of local business people. I sure wouldn't want to work in one of those places.. "

" Heh, first major crime committed by CF residents in a long time.

For shame, CF, for shame.

Oh and anyone thinking of *Waterloo* building a wall to keep *Cedar Falls* crime out needs to rethink their cunning plan. I know you were trying to be humorous, but that failed just about as bad as your claims that CF people need to grasp at tenuous excuses to somehow link most of the crime in CF to Waterloo. "

" Wow, waterloo reader, a tad cynical? Take a look at your lovely town of Waterloo and decide if the shoe fits. Where did you read there isn't crime in Cedar Falls - or criminals in Cedar Falls? It's too bad your attitude about your own town got in the way of you actually having an opinion about the one next door. "

" So let me get this straight.... There is one *attempted* burglary in CF, with the criminals caught *in the act* and people are bad mouthing CF?

Where are you people when people do drive by shootings in Waterloo, or hell, the two *armed* robberies in Waterloo where the criminals are still at large?

Are you people products of the failing Waterloo schools? I have as much civic pride in Waterloo as the next guy but you people are just too much. The crime is rampant in Waterloo, and you have nothing better to do than sit around and heckle CF for a correct, and timely response to crime in their city?

You people are probably the same people defending the armed drug dealers in our town. It is people like you that are driving this once fine town into the ground. I would love to see this city climb out of the gutter it has become, but with people like you trying to justify the failures, it is hard to get the climb started. "

" Good job CF police at catching criminals in the act of breaking the law. "

" Loovian,
I think people just admitted that they hold Cedar Falls up to a higher standard than they do Waterloo. An attempted burglary in CF created more outrage than a pair of armed robberies in Waterloo did.

Either that, or they are really paranoid about losing their precious doorknobs. "

" Hey CF4life: not cynical, sarcastic. I only read about the lack of any criminal element on the Courier blog site. According to many of the CF residents on this blog, the only crime committed in CF are committed by Waterloo residents and it was that group ... that suggested building a wall between CF and Waterloo to keep out the criminal element of Waterloo. This same group of "deep-thinkers" seem to skip the portions of the Courier where Cedar Valley residents and guests are getting their heads kicked in or stabbed in the city of CF. Nothing bad ever happens in CF and if it does, it's solely the result of CF being too close to Waterloo. I wasn't the only one that made the wall crack after this article was posted, just the first. I actually think that there are criminal elements in every city in Iowa and that criminals commit crimes because they're stupid, not because they happen to reside in one zip code versus another zip code. "

" Waterloo Reader,
I have never said that no CF-on-CF crime occurs, nor has any other serious poster, that I have seen. It is just a difficult fact to avoid that the most notable examples of major crime in CF have been traced back to Waterloo residents. I guess you need to work on your reading comprehension skills.

It is hard to escape the fact that a large amount of the crime in CF results in police investigations of non-residents. I particularly enjoy your accusations of others selectively reading the news, in the very same post where you show yourself to be guilty of the same. "

" I guess I had a different view point because my first thought was, "You go, girl!!" Officer Kelli Head takes on two guys and she's tiny but mighty and had them under control. They should be more embarrassed about being caught by a female with a gun than anything else!! All of this bickering about the crime rates between CF and Waterloo is ridiculous. There are obviously criminals living ini both towns, but there are still some great folks there as well. When the college kids all come back, the crime rate raises in CF-sad, but true. But when you add that many people to a place, that happens. CF is a great place to live, but it is far from perfect. It has skeletons in the closet like every town does. Building a wall will do one thing-it will give the contractor a job, and that's it. There's been an invisible wall between the two towns for years and it's stupid to generalize about either city. "

" Can we all just get along? This is the United States of America! By reading these blogs, I see pride as the problem here. My town is better then yours, my school is better, by kids are better. Stop comparing and lets get along. "

" Hey Ozymandias wasnt the stabbing a major crime .You know the one where one girl stabbed another girl. See it happens everywhere!!!!!!! "

" Loovian - I don't think the attempted burglary in CF created more outrage - just more surprise. Armed robberies in Waterloo - does that surprise anyone anymore? The sad part is it seems nobody cares...how many times have you heard the phrase "just another day in Waterloo"...it's sad.

Waterloo Reader - I'm not up on the blogs lately and hadn't heard the line about building a wall. What I'm frustrated with is the total lack of respect any of us have for the other town - in either direction. Growing up in Cedar Falls, I grew up "knowing" there was more crime in Waterloo and that's where I had to "be careful." I have friends who grew up in Waterloo who "knew" those of us in Cedar Falls were goody-goodies and rich kids. It's all bogus. It's hard to see our towns so far apart when we're divided by nothing more than concrete and water. We hear local leaders talk about "oneness" in the Cedar Valley - that's all of us - regardless of our address. The crime in Waterloo could just as easily be in Cedar Falls, and we're quick to forget that. Until we start working together to make BOTH of our towns safe places to live, it's only going to get worse. "

" ozymandias: I guarantee I read more newspapers than you do on a daily basis...and yes, I am counting both papers I have delivered to my door and those that I follow electronically. I further guarantee my "reading comprehension" scores are not sub-par as you suggest. Your statement about "most notable examples of major crime in CF have been traced back to Waterloo residents" can not be supported by facts. What about the fight where the CF police officer had his career ended? The recent stabbing outside of a bar in CF? I have lived in several different cities and I find the crime rate in Waterloo to be a non-factor no matter where I go. "

" Barbie200455 you are 100 per cent correct "

" It's unfair to say people in Waterloo don't care about the crime just because the only time they comment on it is in defense of their town when others start in their same rhetoric about how bad Waterloo is. All we hear is either it's the police's fault or the parent's fault. After a while who wants to even state an opinion if they are going to get attacked for it? "

" waterloo reader. i'm not sure if others have actually suggested building a wall, but when i suggested it several weeks back i was being sarcastic. but yeah, if waterloo residents are willing to help pay for the wall then let's do it. because then both of our cities would be perfect *sarcasm*
oh, nevermind. i'm moving to waterloo next month and i wouldn't be able to visit the great, great city of Cedar Falls. i guess we're not building a wall afterall. "

" It does not matter where a person is from that has committed the crime. To me it matters where they are going. Somebody could be from Rudd Iowa and come to Cedar Falls or Waterloo- it honestly does NOT matter!
Why can not we all just get along- it should be honest versus dishonest not waterloo versus Cedar Falls. "

" nanag,
So you point out a great example of CF-on-CF crime. That stabbing is a sad example of CF crime. What about the other stabbing that Waterloo Reader points out? The one where a Waterloo citizen attacked someone with a knife in CF? What about the stabbing that resulted in murder a short time ago -- started by a Waterloo resident upset that some strangers did not want him joining their party?

I am not saying 'all' crime in CF is due to outsiders, it is just very hard to ignore the fact that outside a few rare examples it is committed by non-residents -- and for the most part things like murder, and organized meth rings are not a resident.

Waterloo Reader: if you continue to misrepresent what I say, or outright lie about the news, no one is going to believe your claims about your reading comprehension. No matter what you *say* about what you read, what matters at the end of the day, with all the chips on the table is when you show the world you don't understand what the paper, or other people are saying. "

" Kudos to the resident who reported the suspicious activity-- "

" I wonder why ozymandias is ignoring the fight at the night club where a CF police officer had his career ended? Do you think it's because it involved three residents of Cedar Falls (if you live there 9 months, you're a resident)? What about the young man that was badly beaten outside the bar? I don't think the crime has been solved yet but apparently ozymandias has already narrowed down a list of suspects for the CF police department....everyone in a Waterloo Zip code. Here's the problem with ozy's myopic view: Everything bad that happens in CF is because of a "Waterloo" resident. My view is that everything bad that happens in CF is because of a criminal. ozy's has cast his net too wide and has demeaned the entire population of a city so that he can feel good about living in CF. I only demeaned criminals and I'm fine with that. I can't wait to hear how Waterloo is responsible for the flooding that took place in CF. To hear ozy tell the story the residents of CF saved their downtown but the residents of North Cedar were flooded because Waterloo failed to come build them a levy. "

" Waterloo reader, I am not ignoring anything. I think it is a terrible event, but it is an event that is in the minority here. Regarding the recent fight downtown, I have never made any claim as to having a suspect, or to thinking that the fight was caused by a Waterloo resident, in fact, my only comments on that have been regarding the ample eye-witness reports, all of which agree that the hospitalized individual started the fight, and instigated the issue. The residency of this individual is well known, and it is not a CF address, nor is it a Waterloo address.

I have never said that all of Waterloo is made of criminals, I have simply pointed out that your crime rate is too high and needs to be addressed, and that the attitude so aptly presented by the quote of a police officer saying 'ho hum, just another day in Waterloo' is in no way acceptable.

I have never said that everything bad in CF is caused by a Waterloo resident. I have never even claimed that all the crime in CF is the result of an out-of-towner, let alone a result of a resident of Waterloo. Your lack of reading comprehension is showing through when you claim I made these statements. I have on multiple occasions stated that there is crime by CF residents, yet you routinely ignore these statements, most likely because they are paired with statements to the effect that these crimes are in the minority, based on police reports and arrest records.

Somehow your demeaning criminals is acceptable, but my demeaning criminals is not, and it seems that the only reason I am not allowed to speak out against crime and the attitudes that support it is that I live in CF.

I have no idea where you get the idea that I am of the opinion that Waterloo was responsible for not building a levy in North Cedar. If any one is responsible for that it would be Cedar Falls, and the residents in N. Cedar in particular's job to plan and fund such an endeavor, no matter how impractical said levy would be. Using similar logic, the levy on the south side of the river was indeed organized by residents of Cedar Falls, and the funding was obtained by these same people. I believe some federal money was used in the project, but that money was obtained by the planning committee's diligence in obtaining grants and filling out the required paperwork. To add a little more pride to the situation, I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of the people that showed up to sandbag in CF were indeed residents of CF. I know not all of them were, and I know this for a fact, as some of my childhood friends showed up to bag, even though they no longer live here. So you are partially correct, the residents of CF did save downtown, and I freely admit this. I am more than a little lost as to why you feel that I would be of the opinion that Waterloo is responsible to build a levy, though. "

" Oh ozymandias: the levy thing was sarcastic. You may need to look that one up. Hopefully this won't rock your world: I and my son came over to help CF sandbag. I, and other Waterloo residents, feel better since you clarified your position "that the most notable examples of major crime in CF have been traced back to Waterloo residents." is means that there is some chance that CF on CF crime occurs, but it's minor. Most of the crime problem in CF has been traced back to Waterloo? Again, you have negatively stereotyped an entire city. I say that most of the crime problem in CF has been traced back to criminals. I would be curious as to your definition of Waterloo. When you say that most of the notable crimes have been traced back to Waterloo: Do you mean the Mayor, or Fire Chief, or our business leaders? Did you see (the city attorney) knocking over a 7-11 in CF? Or when you say "Waterloo" is that a code word for a class of people? Surely you don't have to look up the meaning of racism and sarcasm, do you? "

" Waterloo reader,
What I mean about notable crimes is just that: The murder, the firsts down town, the stabbings. The majority of crimes in CF that made the newspaper are traced back to Waterloo (or other non-CF) residents. How are you getting confused by the fact that many of the criminals committing crime in CF do not live here?

Let's look at the phrase 'most notable examples of crime', and I will help you break it down into simpler components so that you may more easily understand this evidently difficult sentence. "most" meaning the majority, but not necessarily all. "Notable" in this context means 'newsworthy', literally. This is used to differentiate things like the assaults that have occurred in downtown CF recently, such as the Dike resident starting a fight that resulted in his hospitalization, or the murder that happened a while back, from things like littering and spitting on the sidewalk.

I felt I was being clear and tried to make sure I over used the word 'resident' to aid with your reading comprehension, but it appears that you are still having difficulties. Given the context of all my posts, even if I slipped up and said "traced back to Waterloo", it is very evident that the implication is 'traced back to (a resident of) Waterloo.' Even in the context you used the phrase 'traced back to Waterloo' it is very clear that we are not talking the entire city, but rather the criminal element that chose to live there, as opposed to say, living in Cedar Falls.

To put words in my mouth and try to spin what I have said into an attack on the entire city of Waterloo, and claim that I am accusing the entire city of being criminals is quite foolish and simply makes you look even worse.

You seem to be a fan of blowing things way out of proportion and then trying to attribute them to me, and it really is quite childish, and does nothing to help the image of the city you think you are defending. You would be better off addressing the things I have said than making up fictional quotes or stances on issues and addressing those.

It is a bit telling about you, though that you interpret my comments about criminals living inside the city limits of Waterloo to either refer to the city as a whole, or to individual public figures from your city. Your assumption that I am talking about the city attorney, the mayor, or the fire chief when I point out that much of the crime in CF is committed by Waterloo residents (or other non-CF residents) is very interesting, almost like a verbal Rorschach test. I say 'criminal living in Waterloo' and you alternatively confuse that with 'everyone in Waterloo' or 'the major public figures in Waterloo'.

Who is really negatively stereotyping Waterloo? The man speaking ill about criminals, some of whom live in Waterloo, or the person that equates all citizens of Waterloo, including elected officials, with criminals?

It is an interesting tern of events you instigated here, causing me to defend the general population of Waterloo from your broad brush strokes labeling them all as criminals. "

" ozymandias .there you go again thinking you know everything until you have read a police statement dont assume you know what is going on isnt it funny i read the same thing on here that you did and i dont remember everyone saying it was one young mans fault(who i might add is still out of it with brain injury)so until you have the facts you shouldnt persume anything "

" I'll leave it up to the board to tell who has been making the negative comments regarding a class of people. Ozy, reread your comments and you'll see that you didn't qualify your anti-waterloo comments in your earlier posts as well as you did in your last post. My work here is done. "

" ozymandias maybe you should look at your comment on the story about liquor store robbed again (a bad area in a bad town hum!!!!!!) "

" Nanag:
You might want to take your blinders off and re-read the comments made by the eye witnesses on that story. I agree that we may want to wait for an official report, but 3 different eye witness accounts show that the only person hurt was the person that verbally and physically attacked other people downtown.

I stand behind my statement that being complacent with crime makes a town 'bad'. I am a bit confused as to how that comment is relevant here, where Waterloo Reader is having trouble reading what is placed in these comments and thinking that because criminals live in Waterloo, all people from Waterloo are criminals. To say a town is bad because it is accepting of high crime rates, and terrible schools, os in no way, shape, or form the same as saying everyone in Waterloo is a criminal.

I'll join Loovian and chalk your reading difficulties up to the Waterloo School system. "

" My comment to a crime story and your comment back, ozy. Tell us again how you haven't made statements that are clearly in print.

wrote on Jul 8, 2008 10:04 PM:

" ok ozy, here's the thing. I was born in Cedar Falls. Being the kid I was, when my parents moved to Waterloo I moved, too. Other than time away in the military,I married, worked, and raised my family in Waterloo. I understand your loyalty to your town. Do you not understand that everytime there is a crime in Waterloo that you post your negative opinions and put downs to a town that has people who feel the same loyalty to their town, that they are going to feel the need to defend their town to people like you? You don't live in Waterloo so keep your comments to yourself and you won't have to contend with the bickering back and forth. Be proud of your town and and continue to live there and let Waterloo deal with their own. It's really not any of your business if you look at it in this light, is it? "



ozymandias
wrote on Jul 9, 2008 8:45 AM:

" 50674,
Given the amount of criminals overflowing out of your town into mine, it is my business. If Waterloo continues this slide into a slum, where the cops can't even be bothered to look into drive by shootings, it directly effects CF. There is no need to defend Waterloo from someone like me, it is the low-life criminal scum that you need to be defending against. " "

" Careful 50674 or ozy will insult your reading comprehension and the Waterloo school system's ability to teach you anything. I haven't told ozy where I was educated during my reading years because he would just demean that great town as well. Lately when I read ozy's stuff I am reminded of the Wizard of Oz and the line: "Don't worry about the man behind the curtain." Maybe ozy is just that, the mad behind the curtain trying to tell us he's a wizard. "

" served.... "

" 50674,

I am sorry I am missing your point, yet again. I see you defending Waterloo, and the attitudes of Waterloo citizens, which is perfectly fine. You further state that since I do not live in Waterloo, you feel I have no right to make a comment about what happens there. I see me pointing out that the criminals in Waterloo are not staying in Waterloo, but are also traveling to Cedar Falls to commit their crimes, that you would be better off defending Waterloo from the criminals in your midst than defending it from people that are fighting the fight you *claim* to be fighting: against criminals.

You claim to be against criminals, but when someone not from your city steps up to speak out against crime, you would rather get into petty, territorial bickering, and state that the outsiders don't have a right to speak out against crime.

It seems to me that my comments have been entirely consistent, including the ones that you felt the need to drag in from elsewhere, however your stance seems to be blowing in the wind -- other than the pride-at-all-costs attitude you have about anything and everything in Waterloo, even to the point that you defend criminals in Waterloo by saying that outsiders have no right to attack a criminal.

And sorry if I have offended people by demeaning their intelligence. That was low of me, and I should not hold flaws you cannot help against you. I just find it overly frustrating when you miss the point of what I say, and make up things to attribute to me and debate against. "

" ok ozy blinders are off and exactly who are these people .Are you sure they were there? you only know what you read in a blog .Ithink i will stick to the official report. And by the way if you believe everything you read in a blog you have big problems my friend "

" nanag,
Given that no official report exists, and all we really have to go on is the three eye witness reports, I have no choice but to think they eye witnesses might be on to something. I am not saying that they are guaranteed correct, but they are much more likely to be true than the guessing of myself, or a relative of the assailant. Again, lacking official word either way, we really have slim evidence to one situation, and no evidence to the contrary. "

" Maybe no one IS missing your point ..... it would appear people just don't agree with your "point". Your "point" loses any credibility it may have when you feel the need to throw in your continuous demeaning insults (I should not hold flaws you cannot help against you"). The point is AGAIN that you attack each poster in a very personal sense because they don't agree with you. You have repeatedly said and incinuated things on here that now you try to deny, justify or rationalize and are indignant because no one is buying. DONE! "

" 50674,
Again, sorry if that was insulting. I guess I will keep this post simple so you can't find anything to be offended by.

I do not mean to attack people, but if they insist on posting stupid things, or outright lies, I feel the need to point that out.

Consider it a character flaw. "

" ozy you are most assuredly the king of denial. While you are defending the comments I "copied and pasted" from a different post just up above a few posts here ou are doing exactly what you claim to me you aren't. You are an egostical obvious passive-aggressive personality sort. I can tell by your smugness and continuing insults to each and every one who oppses you (and that is certainly the majority) that you are indeed, a very small person. As to your poorly veiled innuendoes about MY comprehension skills ...pffftt!! If my rsponses seem incredulous (or flawed as you inaptly put it) it's because I can't believe that you continue with your same old bull....can't even remember one response from the other. But, we can and we do. So feel free to try to one up me ....I won't be reading it. I now definitely have a better understanding why you chose a DC comic book character as your screen name, though. "

" 50674,
Oddly enough, I had no clue that this name was used by a comic book character. My reading abilities surpassed comic books early on, and I never spent much time on them. The source of my name predates DC comics by over 100 years, and comes from a slightly more literate circle. Thank you for pointing out an additional usage of my name that I was not aware of.

For those interested, my name is a reference to a poem of the same name, about the fleeting works of man, and the brevity of human empires.

I am skipping over your personal, and unfounded attacks. For someone who attacks me for getting frustrated and being impolite to people who are either consistently lying about my posts or fail to even read them, it seems strange for you to be attacking me.

I am very sorry that I lose track of you(and other posters posting in the same vein), but there is only so much gibberish and illogical arguments that I can keep straight in my mind before it starts to blur together.

I am actually a bit sorry to see you leaving this discussion. Picking your brain was an interesting view into the criminal apologist's mind. It was interesting to see how you were willing to defend Waterloo against all outsiders, even in the face of having to directly contradict your earlier posts to do so. "

" Gas prices are up,
The river's finally going down.
Meanwhile, are you sure these guys aren't from out of town?

Regardless where they're from, the acts that have been committed are still down-grading our community.

Let us Pray... "