America’s Awareness Increasing—But Not As Fast As Italy’s
By Brenda Walker

Italy's government instituted a major crackdown on foreign criminals last week, as political leaders sought to respond to public fury.

The immediate reason for bulldozing shantytowns near Rome and deporting some Romanians: the shocking murder of Giovanna Reggiani, the 47-year-old wife of a naval officer. On November 2, as she was walking home, she was beaten until she was unrecognizable and left for dead in a ditch by a 24-year-old Romanian gypsy. She later died in hospital.

In a remarkable gesture, Premier Romano Prodi sent a condolence message to the husband, saying the murder "had wounded the soul of all Italians."

He additionally empowered police to expel European Union citizens "for reasons of public safety."

Can you imagine President Bush taking similar actions after an immigrant crime against an American?

Neither can I. And Mr. Prodi is considered center-left in Italian politics.

In fact, Bush's most recent reaction to a horrific crime by an illegal alien was to take the criminal's side. He tried to stop the execution of the killer of Jennifer Erdman and Elizabeth Pena. The teens had been raped and murdered in the most brutal way imaginable. But Bush's concern was not for the families or justice—let alone the "soul of all Americans".

No, the Mexichurian President's worry was that his pals in Mexico City might be displeased. He further instructed Texas courts to review all capital cases involving Mexican nationals—which is not even his purview as the head of the executive branch.

But regardless of Bush, public awareness of American victims of immigrant crime has expanded greatly over the last year. The Mainstream Media [MSM] can no longer willfully ignore the worsening body count of US citizens the way it once did.

One example: Bill O'Reilly of Fox News, who—love him or hate him—took up the issue when others were afraid to do so.

By “take up the issueâ€