Updated

On "Morning Joe," which is a show nobody watches, columnist Jonathan Capehart offered up a reason for the murder wave sweeping across America. It rhymes with "income inequality."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN CAPEHART, WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST: It's the economy not reaching folks. I mean, we've been talking around this set and on lots of shows on lots of networks about the divide, the huge gap in income -- I should say the income inequality that's out there, where you've got people at the very top who are doing extremely well, people who are at the bottom rung of the economic ladder not doing well and doing worse, especially since the economic collapse of 2008.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Oh, please. Research has actually shown otherwise. Even with the great recession, crime declined. And most experts believe that violent crime, unlike property crimes, aren't linked to financial ills but driven by quarrels, anger, jealousy, dog pictures, and all egged on by drugs and booze.

But come on. Isn't climate change really at fault? Don't we know that?

But let's imagine Capehart's logic in an actual conversation.

"Hey, Tom, what's up?"

"Not much, Steve. This economic inequality upsets me."

"I know. Before it, I was a law-abiding gentleman farmer helping disadvantaged kids. But now I've decided to go shoot cops."

"Me, too. I was once a grade 'A' student in neurobiology, but now I'm going to go torch 7-Elevens."

That's Capehart's logic in a nutshell, where it probably belongs, because it's nuts. Fact is, those committing acts of violence now are always the same creeps who were doing it before.

But this new mayhem isn't helped by a media that paints police as rogues preying upon a hapless community.

So they've reversed the equation, excusing the heathens while smearing police assigned to protect communities from those very same heathens. The result: emboldened creeps who see opportunity and a thin blue line under attack.

So really, this new death wave must rest on the heads of those who feel that character is too much to expect in an evil, racist America.

Fact is, crime is going up because the will of our leaders is going down.