The Guns of August (UPDATE)

That would be a great title for a book about.....what? Someone did it already? Damnit.

In any event, a bloody August is drawing to a close and the numbers are...well, they're incredibly bad. McTool was quoted earlier this month saying he only compares numbers from this month to the same month last year. He might want to avoid that comparison in the future.

He might also want to keep quiet about how well his policies are working at the start of September in case he has another month like August. We imagine he'll be as happy as Rahm to see August in the rear view mirror.

UPDATE: This isn't a good beginning for the last day:

• Eight people were shot Thursday night on the South Side, according to police, including five in a single incident in the Washington Park neighborhood.

  The five were shot about 12:50 a.m. in the 6000 block of South Indiana Avenue, according to the Chicago Fire Department. Four are in stable condition and the fifth is in critical condition. Authorities said a group was standing outside an apartment building when someone inside a passing car drove past and shot at least 12 times. The fire department's first responders asked for an Emergency Medical Services Plan 1, which calld for more ambulances to the scene.

  All of the men are in their 20s, and police described the one with the most serious wound as an "uncooperative victim" who heard shots, felt pain, didn't see anything, and didn't know who he was with when shot.

Hmmmmm. There's something familiar about all this.