The Official List

In case you missed it in the Comments Sections:

Minter-Edwards, Johnnie 002; Ruiz, Roxane 002
Marrella, Russell 002; Lambert, Issac 004
Ivory, Jerry 006; O'Connell, Moreen 007
Xanos, Nicholas 008; Johnson, Patrick 009
Mendoza, Joaquin 009; Servin, Dante 010
Pullappally, Jason 011; Kelly, Michael 011
Perez-Kubelka, Kimberly 012; Oswald, Eric 014
Nemickas, Vidas 014; Iser, Carrie 014
Moriarty, Kathleen 014; Moreth, Michael 015
Jacobs, Eli 015; Hunter, Jefrey 016
Ryan, Sean 018; Filbin, Michael 018
Rickher, Matthew 018; Lonski, Mark 018
Casey, Brian 019; Roth, Michael 019
Graves, Robert 019; Tedeschi, Brian 020
Cerveny, George 021; Barsch, Henry 021
Meister, William 022; Earnshaw, James 022
Czablewski, Stephen 024; Carr, Thomas 024
Leavitt, Marc 024; Ruck, Susan 025
Pritt, Daniel 025; Beltran, Eduardo 059
Szymanski, Douglas 121; Franco, Linden 189
Smith, Amanda 192; Garza, Robert 193
Medina, Debi 193; Chopp, Erik 253
Drees, Brian 253; Benigno, Matthew 253
Wood, Michele 253; Schaedel, Daniel 377
Krettek, Joel 477; Grzyb, Diane 606

What We Found in our E-Mail

From a reader who was kind enough to forward us his DEPARTMENT e-mail -

• Chicago Police Officer Al O'’Connor has been nominated for the Americas Most Wanted- All Star Award.He is asking for your assistance by voting for him in this event by visiting and voting for him at this site.Please do not respond to this email. Sent per the authority of the Bureau of Patrol.

It's addressed to EVERYONE and it even has the link in it that WE posted back on 14 April. We're trying to decide which is the most shocking:

1. The fact that someone high up in the Bureau of Patrol might be reading the blog and is stealing our material.
2. The fact that this appears to be a little bit of misuse of Department authorized e-mail.
3. The fact that someone is willing to e-mail this to every single member and boss with a Department e-mail or Blackberry, AND WE STILL CAN'T GET A SINGLE BOSS to say that awarding a street sign to a convicted felon who advocated killing police officers is WRONG (by boss we mean exempt and we mean publically for the media).
   

Ouch!

Bad collision - and a very big waste of the "other white meat."

• UNION, Ill. Two semi-trucks collided early Wednesday morning on Route 20, killing one driver, spilling tons of raw pork on the road and keeping a one-mile stretch of the highway closed for more than 12 hours.
  
  About 4:50 a.m., an eastbound truck filled with 42,000 pounds of unprocessed pork collided with a westbound truck filled with garbage near Beck Road, McHenry County Sheriff Capt. Glenn Olson said.
  
  No garbage was spilled, but Olson estimated about 14,000 pounds of pork was scattered as far as 150 yards from the scene.
  

Keep the comments clean please.

Republicans Racist? Not!

John Hawkins is one of the first - probably THE first blogger we ever read. We still use his blog as a primary access point for most of our political reading and linking. One of his posts on "How to Blog" was what made us give it a try. From the pages of RightWingNews.com:

• Let's see just how racist conservatives are...

  1. Emancipation Proclamation issued by...a Republican President.

  2. Slavery abolished under...a Republican President and a Republican Congress.

  3. Japanese interned under a Repub...no, wait...sorry, that was a Democrat.

  4. (Percentage wise), more Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act than Democrats. They must've had some ulterior racist motive of which only they were aware.

  5. Affirmative Action implemented under a Republican President (Nixon).

  6. First black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as first black Secretary of State, under a Republican President.

  7. First black woman named as Secretary of State...under a Republican President.

  8. Still, lots and lots of KKK members in Congress are part of the Republican Party. No...my mistake again - Byrd is the only one I found (and he's a Democrat).

  9. Republicans oppose the school choice and vouchers that the...majority of blacks support. Oops, my mistake again - Republicans support them while Democrats oppose them.

  10. Well, at least the majority of blacks are pro-choice, right? Nope, most are...pro-life.

  11. Well, at least most support gay marriage. Sorry, my mistake again. Once more, Republicans are more in line with majority black views than Democrats.

  12. Republicans throw Oreo cookies at...black people running for Congress. Darn, that's the Dems, too.

  13. Republicans enacted the Jim Crow laws. Nope, wrong again.

  14. Republicans are racist because the Democrats say we are. That's about as close as I can get.

More "Bad" Heroin

It's popping up everywhere!

• Chicago Police have issued a community alert to warn residents of the Wentworth and Englewood districts of potential dangerous narcotics being circulated in the community, according to a release from the Wentworth Area Detective Division. There have been several incidents involving people getting sick from a highly dangerous narcotic being distributed as heroin, police said. The Wentworth District incidents have occurred from King Drive to Cottage Grove between 37th and 39th, while the Englewood District incidents have occurred between Ashland and Wood, from 67th to 68th, the release said.

And rumors are that another 5 junkies were found unconscious in the 010th District Wednesday near 22nd and Pulaski where 7 other junkies ingested "bad" heroin a few days ago.

Call us suspicious, but this looks a lot like a concerted effort to kill drug addicts. Seriously. Or maybe a power play by some gang to label another gang's dope as tainted? Can anyone find a link? GD's? Souls? MC's? A new player? MS-13? Is anyone connecting any dots?

No One Wants to be a Fireman?

Sun Times:

• Chicago's first firefighters entrance exam in more than a decade has attracted 24,894 applicants -- down 26.7 percent from a disputed 1995 exam despite an unprecedented outreach campaign that targeted minorities.

What the article isn't telling you is that 12.5% of the applicants are Chicago Police Officers. Almost 3,000 cops have applied to take a job that's less stressful, more time off, better chances at promotion, etc. AND the dicks list is out today. AND they promoted Lieutenants. AND the Feds just released indictments on the mayor, his brother, Stroger and reverend Meeks.

Also, here's the newspaper follow up to the Gun Turn In program.

Quick Hits and Ryan Fallout

From various news channels:

• Channel 2: Federal prosecutors are pushing ahead with investigations of political patronage and payoffs at City Hall and in state government. Hey Lefty? Shady? You wanted Fitz-mas? Here's your Fitzmas! Ryan going down and Daley's machine on the ropes. Watch the County people next (John Daley anyone?)
• Channel 5: Less than a day after former Gov. George Ryan was found guilty of several corruption charges, questions have arisen over whether the jury forewoman withheld information on her questionnaire. Grounds for an appeal? Maybe, but we think not. If it was a State trial, maybe. Federal judges are smarter and less connected to local issues. Judge Pallmeyer seems to have done a good job here.
• Channel 7: The Chicago Police Department is teaming up with church and business leaders to get guns off the street in a program that offers cash for weapons -- with no questions asked. Whoopee! The churches will get a bunch of outdated, rusty, non functional guns that probably would explode if fired and the people will get $100 debit cards they can sell for 50 bucks to purchase a nice shiny new gun.
• Channel 7 again: Officers from the 10th District are pitching in to help some young ladies become Cinderella for a night. They have collected about 40 prom dresses to give away to girls who might not be able to afford the dress of their dreams. WBBM called this their "feel good story" of the day.
  

Bravado?

The Sun Times:

• Mayor Daley said today he has nothing to fear from the across-the-board conviction of his political cohort, George Ryan.

Oh, we don't know about that. John Daley and Richie have both been questioned by the Feds. John is the primary seller of building insurance to many downtown properties, politically connected businesses and others wishing to work with the City. It seems implausible that the Feds don't have something nailed down on the Cook County Board and John seems to be the likely candidate along with Stroger.

$6.74 Million Judgment

And the hits just keep on coming. From the Sun Times:

• After a monthlong trial that ended Feb. 17, a jury concluded that six Chicago Police officers acted with malice and found no probable cause for the charges of kidnapping and murder against the three men.

Big oops. The article doesn't say if the coppers are going to be on the hook for any of this - we'd imagine the City would refuse to indemnify the officers if they were "act[ing] with malice." Any word?

Killing More Trees

Now we're issuing Community Alerts warning of bad heroin:

• Chicago police on Monday issued a community alert to warn residents, especially those in the West Side Ogden District, against accepting and using free drugs they believe to be heroin.

This is wrong on so many levels. Most wrong of all is the name "Ogden District." Anyone who calls Marquette the "Ogden" District ought to be strangled with their own radio cord. 010 is and always will be Marquette, just as 011 is and always will be Fillmore (or "Fillmo" for you purists). What do they call 018 now? 015 got to keep their name.

Second of all, you get what you pay for in quality control issues with heroin.

And finally, we'd rather see them using the extra manpower to put up an extra wagon on the west side to pick up dead bodies than use them to pass out flyers and issue Community Alerts. Here's a news flash for the Department - ALL HEROIN IS BAD, no matter what corner it is sold or given away on.

SCC's Predictions for 2006 - Update

Someone was questioning the wisdom of SCC in predicting the future. Just a quick overview of our predictions we made on January 1st:

• Local Politics - more indictments - True!
• State Politics - Ryan convicted - True!
• National/International Politics - predictions of split decisions in Congress - open; poll numbers - looking wrong; terror apprehensions - open; Iran & China - looking true; Iraq calming - looking true; Syria - open; prep work for a new war - looking true; Europe burning - looking true
• Sports - Bears fall short - True!; Bulls make playoffs - True!; Blackhawks sink - True!; Cubs tread water - open; and Sox repeat - open
• Department - Starks gone and Grau or Maher taking over - open; Lieutenant test - to be announced; Noelle Brennan - mysteriously silent
• General - economy rolling - True!; GM losing money, jobs, DJI spot - 2 of 3 True!; Tookie still dead - True!; Hoffa still missing - True!; SCC Blog passes 1 million views - True!

So we're averaging, what? Sixty percent accurate with only 1 completely wrong predictions so far? Not bad. Not bad at all.

Guilty Guilty GUILTY!

Hahahahahahahaha.

Another prediction of SCC's comes true! We are truly greater than Jean Dixon!

We'll be posting links and commentary in a bit, so stay tuned or tune in later.

UPDATE: Well, evidently, we have a bunch of new people reading the blog. We've been called a number of names and they are asking if we're ashamed to be Republican and predicting that the Dems will take over the House in November. Listen up Asshats:

• We PREDICTED Ryan would be convicted. We cheered it. Ryan was no more a Republican than Daley is a Democrat - they are both CORRUPT scumbags who steered A LOT of business into the hands of connected poeple. You think Richie isn't sweating bullets right now?
• We are HAPPY Ryan got convicted. The Republican party has ceased to exist in Illinois as a viable entity. This may enable the party to move beyond business as usual now that it's over, but we aren't too hopeful. Maybe after a few more convictions come down or Meeks runs for office.
• Dems take over the House? Doubt it. All politics is LOCAL. Local issues drive House races. The Dems need 15 seats to take over the House and they aren't going to get more than 6 or 7. They have a better chance at the Senate and even that looks like only 3 seats are seriously in play. You're forgetting to look at the entire poll - Congress has lower approval ratings than Bush.

In the meantime - ALL of the Local News links in our right hand column are overflowing with Ryan coverage. We hope he is sentenced to a nice long stretch in the Federal pen. It is a happy day for Illinois.

Tax Day!

Do you know where your tax preparer is? Ours seems to be in the Bahamas about now spending our refund money. Does anyone know if the US has an extradition treaty with this Caribbean island? We'd like to get some of our money back.

We ARE Psychic!

Way back on January first, we predicted the Bulls would make the playoff. Once again, we are on the money. We've made probably half a dozen or more correct predictions in that first post of the year. We're probably going to bat over 60% correct. We really ought to try to predict the stock market and make some money.

Happy Easter!

Be sure you check out all of our weekend postings. We were awfully productive, posting at least 10 threads or so ranging on all sorts of topics - off duty shootings, evaluations, gun safety, Darwin Awards, etc. In the meantime, we present this short little Easter reenactment:

Matthew 28:1 - Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Mag'dalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulchre.

Matthew 28:2 - And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone:

Knock it off already! Geez. Next thing you know, she's going to see her shadow and we'll have six more weeks of winter. We are so going to hell for this. Someone pray for us.

Sopranos Update

Vito, Vito, Vito.

And Silvio bringing his "experience" with women to the table? Best line of the episode.

So is Vito going to make a new life for himself in the small town? Are Tony and the boys not going to track him down and whack him? We think if Vito doesn't end up causing himself harm, he might come back to whack Finn (Meadow's boyfriend) as the person to blame for his outing.

Undercover Officer Speaks

Rather than let this languish in the comments section, we decided to give it its own thread. It is from John Northern and an undercover officer who successfully infiltrated the black panthers during its violent heyday. For obvious reasons, he maintains his anonymity to this day.

Perhaps the most exasperating aspect of this media-generated controversy is the fact that the convicted Englewood arsonist son of the late Fred Hampton and most of the others who seek to memorialize a leader of cop killers were not even alive at a time when Panther violence was at its peak. Indeed, most active members of the CPD had yet to be born. The facts are available for research. Panther sympathizers and "historical revisionists" can not alter these facts.

Tyrone emphasizes that in striking out against "the establishment" or "the man", the Panthers target was BLUE--police officers, regardless of race. Nationwide, both white and black police officers were murdered in cold blood by the Panthers and black militant splinter groups.

Second Ward Ald. Madeline Haithcock is nothing more than a clueless tool for the widely-despised instigator of this brouhaha, Bobby Rush, the former "Minister of Defense" for the Illinois Chapter of the BPP and currently a congressman. Haithcock's preposterous proposal is both divisive and obscene. It denigrates the efforts of heroic civil rights leaders like Dr. King who advocated a strategy of non-violence in instituting long overdue sociopolitical reforms. It only reopens old wounds.

In the late 1960's, Tyrone was selected from his class at the CPD training academy to infiltrate the Panthers. Shortly thereafter, he "joined" the BPP and met Fred Hampton and others at their headquarters, 2350 W. Madison St.

According to Tyrone, in our conversations as recently as this afternoon, the Panthers were a group of extremely dangerous and "rotten gangbangers". They hated the police, brainwashing and inciting their members to "kill cops, break into cops' homes and autos" to steal "pig" weapons. They were "thugs, dopies, stick-up men and extortionists", constantly badgering struggling merchants along Madison Street. Their nominal "free breakfasts program for kids" was nothing more than a propaganda smoke screen for their criminal activities including the murders and attempted murders of police officers.

Hampton, Rush and the Panther braintrust would "play dress-up" with their trademark black berets and leather jackets, a primary benefit being widespread access to physically attractive, yet gullible young women who were seduced by the notoriety of the Panthers. They would also appear at Panther rallies, invariably being introduced by white activists. Then, they would incessantly incite those in attendance, including dull-witted fanatics to "OFF THE PIGS!" and "liberate the black community from the occupying pig armies." As documented history bears out, their incendiary words went far beyond mere "Maoist rhetoric".

Tyrone also bought guns from "mules" who brought the weapons up from the South, the sole reason: "to kill pigs!"

Both Tyrone and I agree that the eerie silence of both the Mayor and police brass on this issue is reprehensible and hypocritical.

After reading this, it's kind of depressing that no politician and no police brass has the guts to stand up and say this is wrong - aside from Alderman Tom Allen.

Another Off Duty Shooting

Wow. What's this - like 4 in 10 days? And that's only the ones where we've hit someone (B & A people shot at a few last week too, but no hits - or so we heard). Now we have another guy off duty confronting another subject that just shot a guy before getting into a running gun battle. Channel 2 and Channel 7 coverage.

Be careful boys and girls. It is a dangerous world out there.

Gun Safety (or Not)

We don't know how many of our readers have seen the video of the DEA guy shooting himself in the foot after telling a class of children that HE was the ONLY ONE in that room qualified to actually touch a firearm. We admit we laughed at his misfortune in public and then made DOUBLY sure our firearm was safe in private. His biggest mistake was (say it with us now) being videotaped.

Well, now he's suing the DEA for permitting the video to go public and making him "the joke of the Internet." WGN ran the clip on the news last night and there may have been more broadcasts of it after the suit became public. We probably would have let it die out - now everyone has an excuse to run the tape again and start to recycle all of the old punchlines. On the other hand, we're always thankful for an excuse to review gun safety tips.

Rule #1 - treat all guns as if they were loaded.
Rule #1A - especially if there is a camera running.

Performance Ratings

Sometimes, our readers are just too damn efficient. We didn't get around to reading the comments section until late this morning and then the Sun Times even later and - lo and behold! - our readers have already started commenting on the new Performance Rating System set to come on line shortly.

We were among those glad to see the old system go. It was ripe for abuses (not to mention ancient, outdated, overly subjective ... you get the idea) and was abused regularly. Now we have a new system about to come about and here's the kicker:

• The system will also help set benchmarks for successful performance, he added. Good numbers by "high achievers" could be used for better assignments, he said.

They always throw out this "carrot" to get us to accept programs or at least resist them less. Anyone remember the "$1,000 for 5 years" incentive to work in busy districts? They promised people who completed it first shot at better assignments. How about the "Furlough by Watch" proposal to get more vets to bid to busy districts? That has gone away. Or maybe the 10 hour work schedule? Snatched away by the City without so much as an explanation. Does anyone really believe that "choice assignments" are ever going to go to anyone who (A) isn't already impressing bosses with their work, (B) doesn't have a phone call or (C) (we'll let you imagine what (C) is).

As to the "not being used as a disciplinary tool" spiel, we highly doubt that also. Off the tops of our heads, we can name half a dozen people on this job right now who have been on the medical for over 250 days in the past 5 years of all ranks, races and genders. And what action has been taken against any of them? None that we've ever seen. Any situations revealed by this new system will be used selectively, unevenly and punitively.

They always have in the past - why believe they'll change now? Anyone want to bet against us?

Again - Can You Define "Good" Heroin?

Another batch of "bad" heroin turned up on the west side today (Channel 5 and Channel 7). Ambulances were called when 7 junkies were found unconscious near the scene of a free giveaway. At times like this, we can only say one thing:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Man, are we callous or what? Seriously, we would gladly remove dead bodies from the west side for a month if it cut down on the junkie population. HEROIN IS POISON! These people are voluntarily putting POISON in their bodies, placing enormous stresses on our already overburdened health care system, eating up monetary resources better spent elsewhere, and contributing to a skyrocketing property crime rate. Who cares if they kill themselves faster?

This is the second batch of "bad" heroin this week as we heard the 011th District had a bunch turn up near Adams and Cicero and about the fourth or fifth incident in the past 12 months. Maybe someone is TRYING to kill junkies? Just a thought.

Darwin Awards

Not quite:

• GILLETTE, Wyo. -- Police were called to the hospital to investigate the incident and later learned that the 17-year-old spilled gas on his pants while siphoning gas. He then used a lighter to try to determine how wet his pants were and set himself on fire, Hague said.

It's flammable for a reason kid.

And a nominee:

• PITTSBURGH -- A construction worker was decapitated by an elevator car Thursday as he peered into a freight-elevator shaft, police said. Massaro Corp. president Joseph Massaro III said the elevator operator did not know the man was peering into the shaft.

Oops.

Do You Know Where Your Children Are?

The Department is going to start emphasizing Curfew Violations as the summer months begin in an effort to cut down on minors as victims of violent crime. All well and good. A simple solution to what can be a huge problem (coverage here at Channel 2 and Channel 7).

But where is the manpower to enforce such an endeavor? Let's be realistic - we aren't going to be sending our fleetest of foot chasing after curfews when there are dope and gun calls all over the busy districts, many times perpetrated by these same minors. And in the slower districts, curfews are fewer because parents are more involved. Unless you can educate the parents and make them care about where their kids are and who they're with, this is quite a bit of smoke and a little bit of mirror.

And don't start with the race baiting - this is about parenting and we know PLENTY of minority parents who keep an eye on their kids and make sure they're home at reasonable hours and know their friends and such.

A National Award Nominee

How about trying for a little national recognition for a fellow officer? Over at America's Most Wanted All Star Board, Chicago has a nominee for the 2006 campaign. From the article:

• Officer Al O'Connor is proof positive that police are always ready to respond, whether they're on duty or not. In March 2005, he was driving through Chicago's Engelwood neighborhood on his way to work, when he came upon the scene of a shootout between a uniformed railroad police officer and a suspect. The railroad officer had been hit three times, and it wasn't looking good. Officer O'Connor leapt from his personal car and managed to fire a shot off at the suspect - fatally wounding him. Officer O'Connor then managed to get the railroad officer life-saving help before he lost too much blood.

What to do? Well, this is Chicago after all. And the rules clearly say you can vote once a week. So let's get voting (voting ends 21 April)! Go to this site and vote for Al. Then hit the "Tell a Friend" button and get some more people to vote for Al. The do it again before next Friday. If we were able to get a few thousand people to sign the Hampton petition, we ought to be able to get a few votes for a deserving nominee (damn, we sound like an old time Ward boss).

RMS Titanic

On the 94th anniversary of the sinking of the "unsinkable" ship, does anything really need to be said?

Well, the answer is probably "YES!" after seeing this photo. Have at it people.

Rumor Mill Activity

Rumor has it three (3) Captains are going to lose their bars today as the have not fulfilled the requirements to hold the position (i.e. four year degree). No word on where they're going or how it's going to come down. The only name we heard was a certain person who has been on the receiving end of merit promotions at least three times.

Body Snatchers Contract

GSSP Enterprises Inc has decided to let the City out of their current contract for removing dead bodies because the City used over inflated numbers for the bidding process and GSSP is losing money on every body they transport (Sun Times, Channel 5).

• "They quoted roughly 8,600 bodies [a year]. The actual number was 40 percent of that. You can't survive if you're getting paid per unit. Now, we're bidding on real numbers -- not on the city's fictitious numbers," Higgins said.

Imagine that. The City using fictitious numbers for a contract. Why would they do that? Why, to discourage other companies from bidding on a contract. Now GSSP can rebid the contract at their whim, raise their margins and truly clean up moving 3,440 bodies a year. All we wonder is if there will be any disruption in the body pickups? Because D-3 for removing sounds OK.

Light Blogging Today

At least, lighter than the past few days. Things to do, placed to go, people to see. We'll be in later.

In the meantime, anyone out there think an initiative against "drag racing" is coming soon? One child killed in Gary the other day and another killed between 010 and 011 this morning (Channel 2; Channel 7).

We've always wondered if the "de-emphasis" on traffic enforcement might have led to the upsurge in "impolite" drivers we see day in and day out. Kind of like how the lack of enforcement on moving to the right for emergency vehicles fell by the wayside until a firefighter got killed and the fine jumped up hundreds (or thousands) of dollars. Or how the "no chase" policy on motorcycles opened up a whole new culture of bikers who run at the drop of a hat. Just wondering.

Pictures

We've been dead set against naming a street for someone who advocated the killing of police officers. These pictures were e-mailed to us show just how depraved the entire black panther organization was AND how dedicated to the killing of coppers Bobby Rush and his ilk truly were. The pictures aren't the greatest quality - they're from the Tribune archives and almost 40 years old. But you can get the idea. First up, a wall covered with articles about the killing of police officers. Kind of a trophy type wall - a bragging board:

Next, a collection of rifles and ammunition stored at the address at which Fred Hampton met his demise. We are aware of the accusations made by various conspiracy types that the photo was staged and it may have been the ammo and rifles were gathered in one place to make for a better photo. But we don't subscribe to the moonbat theories that the State's Attorney and his men ran around with a load of rifles and ammo just to plant it somewhere:

And the Bobby Rush connection:

Victims Victims Everywhere

Once again, Channel 5 encourages the cult of victimhood infecting the Englewood community, aided and abetted by the mayor. From their website (bold is the article; italics are our comments):

• Mayor Richard M. Daley said on Wednesday the Chicago Police Department would use rookie police officers to canvass the Englewood neighborhood beginning next week. (So the PPOs who graduated Wednesday can look forward to a tour in the lovely 007th District. On the other side of the coin, anyone who doesn't go Englewood is obviously politically connected. Make notes.)
• "This is the mayor's idea, (obviously, as it seems to have little to do with police work) and I think what sparked it is the homicides of the two young girls," said Chicago Police Superintendent Phil Cline." (This is where we'll take issue with the Supe - this seems transparently sparked by the burgeoning Federal investigation that is coming into full bloom lately.) And seeing what more we could do in Englewood to help it. Because we know that the police alone can't solve all of the social issues." They also said they hope to determine residents' needs for such things as: housing, daycare, after-school programs, abandoned cars and buildings (Sorry, but isn't this the job of social services? What the hell do we pay taxes for? And how come we manage to do all this on our own?)
• "That's the first big step," said Quinile Hannon, one of Reed's brothers. "It shows actually that police department is actually doing something instead of harassing people. They're showing that they care by going house-to-house." (Ummm, Quinile? Fuck you. Really. Fuck you you absolute piece of shit. Harassment? Up yours jagoff.)

So it seems we are entering the age of the cop as a social worker. Oh boy oh boy!

A Couple of Quick Hits

For a nice Wednesday evening:

• Police shooting in 006 (Channel 2; Tribune). WGN News is already speculating that this may have been a dispute over a woman that ended in gunfire on the woman's front porch. We certainly hope not.
• Dick "Turban" Durbin is trolling for votes in Englewood (Channel 2). So are other politicians. See the next thread where we post about our opinion on this little stunt.
• The National FOP is encouraging the Capitol police officer who was struck by representative Cynthia McKinney to consider a lawsuit. They are also looking into McKinney's private security who is caught on camera threatening a member of the press with a "I'm the police" type comment.
  

D.C. Police Week

Last chance to book a room for the National Peace Officer Memorial Service. Police Week is May 13th thru the 16th and only a few rooms are available (see the flyer here!)

Further details are available from ChicagoDCTrip@aol.com. Contact them today if you're one of those last minute type travelers.

And if you see an exempt there, ask them to sign the petition. We haven't heard of any signing yet, but we haven't read it in a few days. Click here to sign.

Coyotes in the City

River North to be precise, near 84 brand new townhomes, filled with children and pets - well, one less cat now. From Channel 2 News:

• CHICAGO A pack of city-dwelling coyotes has a Chicago family worried about the safety of their children and pets. The coyotes were spotted in vacant lot behind townhomes on North Ogden in the River West neighborhood. CBS 2'’s Suzanne LeMignot reports the family fears the worst for its missing cat, which has been gone for about two weeks.

We're still pushing for the release of larger predators (lions, tigers and bears oh my) in various neighborhoods to keep down on the surplus of dope dealers, attorneys, college professors and other liberal types.

City Is Running Smooth

Smooth we tell you. SMOOTH!

Tribune; Sun Times; Channel 5; Channel 7.

Aside from the destroyed computers, shredded files, rigged interviews, fraudulent hiring, crooked contracting, unqualified promotions, "Hired Truck", questionable land sales, "Silver Shovel", guilty pleas left & right and a number of persons cooperating with the Feds. Otherwise, it's as smooth as high grade "Machine" oil can be.

Now the mayor is being touted as a potential witness and his lawyers have told him to go from "deny, deny, deny" to "no comment." Perhaps they have him on tape proving he knew something and the "deny, deny, deny" line ain't going to fly with the Feds? We can only hope.

Cop Cleared?

From the Comments section:

• SORRY for being off topic but this is the latest place to post before I hit the rack. PO Brian Van DerMay [sp?] was found NOT gfuilty today @ 26th/ California. [Alleged excessive force vs. Cabrini Green Gang Banger] While there was never enough evidence to convict him, a jury, as you may well know, may not have been so professional in their opinion. Just thought you'd like to know. Gotta hit the rack now. I have to get up early on my day off tomorrow and help OJ search for the 'real' killer(s). HAPPY AND SAFE EASTER! REMEMBER THE THIN BLUE LINE.
  

Confirmation? It hasn't hit the news sites yet.

CONFIRMATION: Sun Times article on Wendesday.

Are We Missing Something Here?

Fran Spielman's article in Today's Sun Times is headlined "Emergency Chief to Collect $281,280 a Year." The article goes on about how Cortez Trotter is in line to collect $131,280 in Firefighter pension in addition to his new salary of $150,000 as Chicago's "chief emergency officer." Here's the kicker at the end of the story though:

• Trotter's arrangement marks the first time in recent memory that a high-ranking city employee collected both a pension and regular paycheck from City Hall. [emphasis added - SCC]

Wow. Way to qualify a statement Fran. "...from City Hall." Amazing. Because we're sure that it isn't the first time that anyone has collected a pension and another City check (Townsend, Maurer, every formerly sworn supervisor working at OEMC, all the retirees currently working the Operations Center with the cameras). But Fran makes it seem that Cortez is doing something new. Correct us if we're wrong, but even the mayor's check is cut by the comptroller, so it doesn't really come out of "City Hall."

It sure is nice to take care of friends.

Behind the Curve

Hey Ma! Close the barn door! The horse got out again!

• The head of the Chicago firefighters union is calling for screening buyers of firefighters memorial license plates after learning two felons killed last week by a Chicago Police officer had them on their pickup trucks.

Frank Main and his editors continue to compound their new found policy of identifying police officers by publishing the name of the VICTIM, not once, twice or thrice, but FOUR times in two paragraphs. Of course, their justification this time will be "the officer is named in the civil suit" but if anything happens to this officer or his family from gang members bent on revenge, Main, his editors and the Slum Times should be held liable.

Note: fourth post already today! Read them all! Tell your friends!

Here Come the Lawsuits

Channel 5 and Channel 7 report that the families of the two dead gang members who drew guns on an off duty Chicago police officer have filed suit against the City for information regarding the shooting.

Please. Continue. We'd like some information ourselves. Please answer the following questions:

• Where did your husband/boyfriend/father of your baby get two handguns, especially considering their criminal records?
• Where were these weapons stored and for whom? Were they accessible to your children? Does DCFS know about this?
• What's with the Fire Fighter plates on the vehicle? Yes, we know they weren't firefighters and yes, we know the plates can be purchased by anyone, but why did they have them? Were they looking for a free pass when they committed traffic violations? Drug running? Drive by shootings?

Anyone else have info they'd like to get from this attorney before the City makes them an offer to settle a completely justifiable shooting?

The Washington Post Deserts Lefty

Liberal bastion of leftist thought, the Washington Post on Sunday ran the following editorial, excerpted here:

• PRESIDENT BUSH was right to approve the declassification of parts of a National Intelligence Estimate about Iraq three years ago in order to make clear why he had believed that Saddam Hussein was seeking nuclear weapons. Presidents are authorized to declassify sensitive material, and the public benefits when they do. But the administration handled the release clumsily, exposing Mr. Bush to the hyperbolic charges of misconduct and hypocrisy that Democrats are leveling.
• The material that Mr. Bush ordered declassified established, as have several subsequent investigations, that Mr. Wilson was the one guilty of twisting the truth. In fact, his report supported the conclusion that Iraq had sought uranium.

Gee Lefty, even YOUR newspapers are beginning to abandon the fever swamps of YOUR party. Karl Rove must have made them do it, right? (hat tip to AceofSpades)

One Week Down

Only 103 more weeks to go until the Dan Ryan construction project is completed. That means we're a little less than 1% of the way though. Time just seems to fly by, doesn't it? This time next week, we'll be just short of 2% of the way through.

When Life in Prison Isn't Enough

Floyd Durr, already serving a sentence of 125 years for numerous other sexual assaults, was given an additional sentence of life plus 30, which means his earthly remains ought to be seeing the light of day somewhere around the year 2132 when robot clone prison guards will dig a hole and finally bury this turd. Seriously, is there a purpose of life PLUS whatever? There's still nothing from stopping an asshat of a governor from pardoning Durr in 30 years or so.

But, it does look like the City got its wish. And anyone else who had something in the line of fire. No trial. And the only people who got hurt by it? The taxpayers who paid out millions to two most likely criminally liable juveniles, the detectives who got it right and paid a price with their public reputations, and a dead girl's family who knows something isn't right.

Perhaps one day, a full accounting will be made. Maybe Mrs. Harris's call for a special prosecutor will be taken up at a not too distant date. It would be interesting to see why the people who got it right were treated so wrongly.

Channel 7 & Sun Times coverage.

Addendum to Below Ranting

Some commentators are saying we (cops) are paranoid and too sensitive.

Tell you what. Do a little research. Read anything you can about gangs like MS-13. Dig up some research on a few other Latin and South American gangs. Gangs like these TARGET law enforcement. Ask the 010th District people who have had at least one incident of being jumped by MS-13 gang members for the simple offense of being pulled over. Then pick up a paper and read up about the Middle East. Guess what they're targeting? Police Officers. And maybe check out some other stories in Europe and other parts of Asia. Police officers are targets because police officers are the glue that holds society together.

We know what we signed up for. And like any other person who is interested in their job, we follow the changes not just locally, but nationally and internationally. What worries us is our spouse didn't sign up for this job and our kids certainly didn't. What happens when a few psychos locate a cop's name, decide to do a little research and hose down the house with guns one night? Can't happen? Chances remote? Maybe, but maybe not.

Do you want to take that chance?

From the Comment Section

Long Rant. Below is an alleged reply to a letter someone wrote to Frank Main, the Slum Times reporter who published the name of the officer involved in the recent shooting in 017. NOTE! We have no way of knowing if this letter actually came from Frank Main. It could be a provocation of some sort. But it was in OUR comments section and we reserve the right to address it as public info on a public web site:

• I understand your concerns. This was an editorial decision made late Friday. The discussion was that we have routinely named civilians who have shot and killed attackers in self-defense and the same should apply to police officers. The department does not normally give out the names of officers in police-involved shootings and did not officially in this one either. Sources, however, confirmed the name. I told my editors the name and they decided we should run the name. It's not so much a practice by the media not to name the officers: it is simply that the media normally are not provided with the name of the officers and have grown accustomed to not asking. In any event, I have taken your concerns into account, as well as the other officers I have heard from on this. I'll have a discussion with my editors Monday so we can come up with a policy, instead of doing this case-by-case. I am not unsympathetic to your concerns. But I understand my editors' point that the officer, though off-duty, was involved in a public action by the nature of his being a sworn officer and evidenced by the police roundtable he went through after the shooting. I'm leaning toward not naming such officers in the future, but I have to talk it out with my bosses. Thanks for taking the time to write me.

First of all, a decision like this should not be made on the fly late on Friday night. We'd like the names of these "editors" so that we can explain to them the error of their ways. The civilians who are "routinely" named after killing in self defense aren't usually media savvy persons who realize reporters are going to publish their names and the circumstances of their indicents. Many times it is their neighbors who comment in their stead. The police are a bit wiser than that and know not to be so glib with their info.

The fact that the Department doesn't "officially" identify the officers involved is not surprising. WHAT IS FUCKING APPALLING is that this letter admits that the someone in the Department would "unofficially" identify an officer (the quote is "did not officially in this one either"). And then the letter writer ADMITS that he took a name and CONFIRMED it with SOURCES and then gave it to editors who ran with it.

If this letter is legit, (#1) Frank Main has a lot to answer for, (#2) the editors at the Slum Times have a lot to answer for and (#3) the spokesperson for the Department has a HELL OF A LOT to answer for if they even came near "unofficially" identifying an officer to the point his identity could be CONFIRMED BY SOURCES. The officer is the VICTIM. Why is the Department ("unofficially") and the media making him (and his family) potentially victims again? And what new low is the Slum Times going to sink to? Are they now going to publish the names of rape victims?

We'd call on the Department to do something with this: revoke press passes; investigate the "spokesperson" who identified the officer "unofficially"; maybe lay down a rule or two about identifying officers at all in the media. But the exempts can't even be bothered to stick up for our dead. Why would they do it for the living?

The Sopranos Update

Don't read if you haven't seen the episode:

Ok, the Sacrimoni wedding was amusing (the conversations with the old folks at the table was great) and Vito looks like he's about to go off and be found dead in a hotel room. Tony's picking fights again and the "munchkin' mayor" is going to be a large (but short?) issue soon. But the underlying currents all point to Phil as the next big problem - for everyone. We were wondering how much of Phil's dealings with Tony is John actually aware of and how much Phil is keeping John in the dark about the garbage business dealings.

But the stuff with Lorraine Bracco is stale and seems to have run its course. As instrumental as she was to understanding Tony back in the early days of the show, she seems to have become that much dead weight. It's an odd sort of disconnect - we don't even look forward to her explaining why Tony acts the way he does. We already know. He's a borderline psychopath with a lot of anger and control issues. Do we really need her to tell us that?

The Media as the Enemy

It was suggested in some of our comments sections that as the Sun Times has suddenly made it it's policy to name officers involved in shootings, that all courtesies extended to the media should be revoked.

That sounds like a great idea. They're speeding to the scene of some breaking story, ticket them. They park in a bus stop so they don't have to walk so far, hammer them. They get stupid at a crime scene and don't listen, arrest them. We'd say give the guys dropping off papers in the boxes a break, but why? If the media can use innuendo and half assed reporting to smear the entire department, shouldn't the guys at the bottom of the delivery chain suffer the same fate as Frank Main and his ilk? They're part and parcel of the same organization. Tell them it's all Frank's fault.

What say the readers? Do we really care?

Why Politicians are Useless

Exhibit #1,435:

• SPRINGFIELD -- People who own a vicious dog and are later charged with a felony drug crime would have to get their dog sterilized or face further charges under a bill sent to the governor Friday.

Yes, our politicians in Springfield have sent a bill to Blago insisting that dope dealers have to get their dogs sterilized OR ELSE! What are these people -- morons?!? This must have been some interesting floor debate. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting the dope dealers to give up their guns or something similar. Maybe they'll try to ban assault weapons altogether in spite of the fact that felons RARELY if ever register their guns in the first place.

Why Would They Do This?

The Sun Times identifies the officer, which we have no idea why they would do that. They've just invited a world of shit down on him and his family. We're going to end up jailing and shooting a lot more latin eagles over this because of them. Of course, it's Frank Main, who doesn't have a brain in his empty head. From the article (which we won't link to):

• [the cop] stepped in to break up an altercation involving Elrod at Magic Touch Club, 5728 W. Belmont. Elrod told [the cop] he would "be back" and went to pick up Centera, police sources said.
• Police also found extra ammunition on Elrod, sources said.
• No one else was in either of the vehicles involved in the shootings, police said.
• Centera had been arrested at least 26 times for everything from felony marijuana possession to disorderly conduct and trespassing, records show

Fine, upstanding citizens, eh? Who goes out, gets his buddy, a pair of unregistered pistols and goes hunting for a guy who broke up a fight? Oh yeah, a gangbanger. And now, as one of our readers so succinctly put it, their final contribution to society is two new job openings in a booming economy - thanks dumbasses!

Economic News

Via Powerline and Yahoo:

• Unemployment down to 4.7%.
  211,000 new payroll jobs added in March.
  Economic growth has now continued for 17 consecutive quarters.
  Consumer confidence is at its highest level in 4 1/2 years.
  Since January 2001, real after-tax income per person has risen 8.3 percent.
  Construction spending is at a record high.

This might be the ONLY thing that prevents a disaster for the Republicans in November. It's the ECONOMY stupid!

Just Saw WGN News

... and what a piece of shit reporting they did tonight. Here's what they avoided saying on the air:

• Elrod's [one of the OFFENDERS - SCC] wife later told detectives her husband called home and told her he was coming to retrieve a gun because someone at the bar had made him angry, sources said.
• Police said they recovered two handguns, a .38-caliber revolver and a .25-caliber semiautomatic, from the cab of the truck.
• Police said both dead men were known members of the Latin Eagles gang and one had extensive gang tattoos. Both had numerous arrests ...

All of the above is from the Trib article, and WGN must have worked very hard to avoid quoting anything supporting the police, but they accomplished it. And the truly sickening thing about all this is how the media would have spun it the other way if the cop died. We'd see quotes like:

• ambushed by two thugs
• unregistered handguns
• extensive arrest records
• never got a shot off

So what, are we targets now? We have to take fire before we can return it? These jagoff are really pissing us off. The media is the enemy - always remember that. They are definitely NOT your friends and would gladly canonize two thugs if they think they can smear a copper. Kind of like the whole Hampton thing. How soon until Bobby Rush wants a street named after these two dead jagoffs?

$40 Million Contract

To upgrade and enhance safety systems at the end of the runways at Midway. This would include a crushable concrete barrier that would slow down out of control airplanes:

• After initially saying crushable concrete barriers at the ends of runways were not feasible, the city Department of Aviation now believes they will work. In fact, the city is prepared to spend up to $40 million to bring it to Midway.

Imagine that. Something that works in about 300 airports around the globe might actually work in Chicago. They must have found just the right concrete manufacturer to create this super duper system for Chicago. At least we'll avoid more pictures like this if they install the system:
UPDATE: Joshua Wood's family sues Boeing and SouthWest.

Off Duty Shooting in 017

Digging up links now.

UPDATE #1: Channel 2; Channel 5; Channel 7; Sun Times; Tribune.

According to WBBM Radio, weapons were recovered in the gang bangers vehicle. Also, the FF plates on the vehicle don't mean that the vehicle was owned by a Firefighter. Anyone can order those plates. We could swear that when they put out the Police Memorial plates, it was restricted to Police or Peace Officers only.

UPDATE #2: If McNulty is on the scene, he ought to be handing out medals and field promotions all around. And if he could, you know McNulty would.

UPDATE #3: Post moved to remain at the top from original post time of 0716 hours.

More Loud Noise from the Left

A few people (Lefty, William) are screeching as the moonbats often do when they think that Bush has done something wrong. The past day or two has been no exception.

They are quoting various news reports that Bush leaked classified information. All we can figure is that they must hear the first line of the radio news or only read the first two paragraphs and then run off to their computers to yell at us, because we've been listening to the same mainstream outlets and reading the same mainstream articles, EXCEPT that we read and listen to the very end and then we go check out the ACTUAL reporting.

• First of all, every single report or article ends with the line "It doesn't appear at this point that Bush broke any laws." Wow! Wouldn't that kind of VOID every single thing that the left is screeching about?
• Second, the president is allowed to decide who and what are classified information. The president decides who gets access and is allowed to see the info. If the president decides that the American people need to know something, he can reveal it and it's no longer classified. Imagine that!
• Third, if you read the actual AP report, they say the president revealed "certain" information that isn't specified - nothing at all that says it was "classified" and nothing at all as to the content. It's horseshit reporting from the media.
• Fourth, this is alleged grand jury testimony. None of it has been made public, so the leakers are committing felonies left and right. Remember when Lefty and his buddies were predicting "Fitzmas" would produce Cheney's head in a platter? And they got ... Libby.
• Fifth, the information that AP and others appear to be alluding to was classic counter intelligence. Joe Wilson was lying - blatantly and obviously - to cover for Saddam's WMD programs and the Administration countered, deciding that the NIE (which was to be released to the public anyway) would be released earlier than scheduled to counter Wilson's lies.

This is all crap that media monkeys are flinging at the walls to see what sticks, especially in light of the positive numbers and news that's coming out of Iraq and to distract from what is becoming a large crisis in Iran.

Links at NROnline, PowerLine and Captain's Quarters

Go read the links - you'll immediately be smarter than Lefty, Golding and about 60 million people who voted for John Kerry.

Media Bias Part CCXXXIV

Persons of the leftist persuasion (and a quite a few middle of the road types) are absolutely convinced that we're losing the War in Iraq. The "polls" tell the story of declining war support and democrats are claiming to have better ideas, methods and plans (all without revealing an iota of actual idea, method or plan - kind of like John Kerry's campaign).

How about these numbers from MyElectionAnalysis.com:

• 81, 76, 50, 49, 43, 25

  What are these numbers? This week'’s Powerball winners? A safe deposit combo? New numbers to torment those poor b*stards stranded on the island in Lost?

  No, they'’re the number of troops that have died in hostile actions in Iraq for each of the past six months. That last number represents the lowest level of troop deaths in a year, and second-lowest in two years.

As the website notes, everything isn't peachy. The insurgency isn't about to collapse of it's own accord. But we certainly aren't losing the war. Not by a long shot.

And where do these numbers come from? The Brookings Institute - a liberal think tank. We wonder why this isn't being covered in every paper and news magazine in the country (not).

This Seems Familiar

We've heard this woman's name before. We just can't remember where. Any help would be appreciated.

• The Illinois Supreme Court announced Wednesday that Appellate Justice Anne Burke has been appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Mary Ann McMorrow, the first woman to serve on the court.

Damn, this is going to bug us all night now. And the incestuous Illinois political dance continues.

Call Ted Kennedy!

Wait a minute - maybe we'd better not notify the Swimmer.

• PARIS (AFP) - Astronomers say they have spotted a cloud of alcohol in deep space that measures 463 billion kilometres (288 billion miles) across
• The vast bridge-shaped cloud of methyl alcohol has been spotted in a region of our galaxy, the Milky Way, that is called W3(OH), where stars are being formed by the gravitational collapse of concentrations of gas and dust, the discoverers said in a press release.

A cloud of alcohol, 288 billion miles across. If there's a heaven, this just might be it. At least for the Irish.

D'oh!

Prisoner escapes custody. Channel 2, Channel 5, Channel 7, Sun Times, Tribune.

Not only are we looking at long suspensions here, we're looking at killing more trees with the amount of paper that's going to be generated over this. How soon until we see refresher orders on how to secure a subject and a squadrol? Anyone have info on this?

Dig at the Leftists

We posted earlier this week about Air America's lack of success in the face of alleged "polls" showing desire for some sort of change. Now the head of Air America just resigned. Think he knows something Lefty, Malcolm, Shady and William don't?

City Stands up for Segway Patrols

That's the headline on our two favorite reporters (Frank Main and Fran Spielman) piece on the downtown Segway patrols.

The headline should probably read something along the lines of "City Stands up (a rich juicy contract) for Segway Patrols." We had no idea that there were 26 of these things downtown and now they're getting another 15. Under a new City contract, the City will spend another $580,000. This includes 5 more machines added to the 12 at the airport.

As the machine cost $6,000 a piece, that eats up $120,000 of the contract total, leaving $460,000 for ... what? Maintenance? $7,931 left over per machine that only costs $6,000. Taking into account that ANY large ticket item you purchase LOSES value once you take delivery, is this really an efficient use of city funds?

Oh wait, we used the words "city" and "efficient" in the same sentence again. We'll go sit in the corner. Bad SCC!

What Are We - Psychic?

A few months ago, we predicted that the burgeoning coyote population would lead to more and more encounters between pets and the wild animals. Channel 5 and Channel 7 report another attack in Lincolnwood. Other attacks have been noted in Glencoe, Arlington Heights and Northfield. Combined with reports of coyotes in the forest preserves and at the Filtration Plant, we're due for a large upswing in attacks until someone actually says "Hmm, these things are dangerous. Maybe we ought to eliminate a few." Hopefully, we don't see an attack on a small child somewhere.

Petition Tops 1,750!

In less than 48 hours, this petition has managed to acquire quite a few hundreds of signatures. We're going to keep reminding people for the next few days to sign it, get their relatives to sign it and any members of the law enforcement community to climb on board. We know just about every copper out there has a list of people they forward funny e-mails and stuff to - hell, that's how we got the pictures of our famous sergeant.

Forward this link around. All you have to do is click on the little envelope icon at the bottom of the thread and post who it goes to. We couldn't make it simpler if we tried. Point. Click. Send. And the support continues to roll in from around the country. Anyone know some media types who'd spin this our way?

Again - Sign the Petition. NO streets named for those who advocated the murder of police officers. Has anyone yet found a SINGLE exempt signature on the page? We don't know them all, but we aren't seeing any brass we recognize aside from a recently retired Lieutenant who is now Chief of Police in a nearby suburb. Thanks Sir!

The Next Step in Enforcement

Remember a few months back the proposal (pilot program?) to allow ticketing for minor amounts of marijuana? Well, Jolly Old England has taken the ticketing a step further. From the London Daily Mail:

• Burglars will be allowed to escape without punishment under new instructions sent to all police forces. Police have been told they can let them off the threat of a court appearance and instead allow them to go with a caution.

  The same leniency will be shown to criminals responsible for more than 60 other different offences, ranging from arson through vandalism to sex with underage girls.

Watch out people! If the mayor gets a hold of this, he might see it as a way to reduce Court Overtime. No wonder crime is rampant overseas.

And Keep Spreading the Word

Sign this petition. Get your spouses to sign. Get your parents and siblings to sign ESPECIALLY if they live in the City.

This is important.

The support from all over is priceless, don't misunderstand us. But Daley can ignore "foreign" signatures - they don't vote here. We need a PILE of more Chicago signatures.

We spent a bit of time paging through the signatures yesterday and we're happy to see so many familiar faces (we won't identify anyone by name lest we inadvertently identify ourselves). We we're especially happy to see quite a few Sergeants and Lieutenants as the exempt brass is evidently too scared to even express their opinions via a petition. Only in Daley's Chicago.

This is HILARIOUS!

This is even better than the VCR scam where you get a box full of bricks:

• SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A rash of oven-door thefts may be linked to a recent case in which a woman bought what she thought was a flat-screen TV, only to discover that the package held an old oven door, police said.

We can hardly wait for this scam to move into the City. Someone MUST tell us when it does, because we're going to steer a lot of business in that direction. We're still laughing at this one.

Sopranos Update - Late

Sorry about that (we got distracted). Don't read any further if you haven't watched it yet.

Well, we think that once again, our powers of deduction are second to none. If Paulie is scamming behind Tony's back and not kicking up to the man, he's in line for a serious whacking. And for such a momma's boy, his whole world just came crashing down on his head. But our favorite part was Tony and the rapper in the hospital room with the one goof holding the satellite dish out the window so they could watch the fight. That was priceless.

A Couple of Quick Hits

• Capitol Hill police seek an arrest warrant for the arrest of cop slapper Cynthia McKinney. The US Attorney has to review the incident on it's "merits," but as the whole incident is on video, we don't see what the hold up is going to be. McKinney is playing the race card hot and heavy.
• Meeks is getting closer and closer to running (Channel 2 and Channel 7). A number of ministers are finally realizing what Meeks' grand standing is going to cost them in terms of Republicans taking back control of the Governor's mansion and are trying to head this off at the pass. We hoping he pulls the trigger soon. Run reverend! Run!
• Lisa Madigan might soon be wearing egg on her face after lawmakers won't be voting on her forcing more hospitals to provide free care to low income and uninsured patients. Do you think this had anything to do with the recent bankruptcies of many California hospitals and the huge "undocumented immigrant" marches that are shining a light on what exactly is driving hospitals out of business? We know we do.
  

The Ryan Harris Case

The Sun Times and Channel 7 are reporting that a deal may have been cut with Floyd Durr to avoid the death penalty for the murder of Ryan Harris.

From what we know of the Ryan Harris case, this thing has been a political hot potato from the word go. Two kids were arrested and charged and then released after Floyd Durr was tied to the case by a semen sample. The city ended up paying out millions of dollars to the two kids for false arrest, but nothing was ever said about the investigation or investigators who ran this heater. There is a reason for this and we'll state it here:

• The Detectives got it right!

The media won't touch it and the Department won't say it aloud but the City screwed up by paying out. The reason this thing is probably never going to trial is that Durr might be guilty of something, but he wasn't the instigator. The ASA's can't afford to put the detectives on the stand because it will embarrass the City and Durr might get off on a technicality.

• The boys plotted and lured Harris to the scene to steal her bicycle.
• The boys caved in her head with a brick or stone and played with the unconscious victim in a sexual manner, inflicting provable harm.
  
• Durr came on the scene later, molested the unconscious girl and probably caused her death by stuffing her mouth with her own panties.

Talking to a number of people we know, there is a ton of information that no one ever revealed for one reason or another. Taxpayers are left holding the bag and the Department gets an undeserved black eye. Lovely system we have here - pay off some of the guilty parties and possibly make a deal with another to make a political issue go away.

*** And if you haven't signed the petition yet, go now! It takes mere moments and it has the potential of sending a rather large message. ***

Behind the Polls

You'd think with all the bad press the Administration has been getting of late, that people would be eager for another take on things. A new voice to lead America out of the wilderness that is Bush Country.

Evidently, that voice ISN'T Air America. Check out these ratings. In the Chicago AND New York stations, Rush Limbaugh (whom we have still never listened to) actually showed an increase in audience.

Can any Leftists (or Shadyists or Malcolmists) explain this?

Sign The Petition

An On-Line Petition to protest the attempt to name a street after Fred Hampton, who called for the slaughter of Police Officers and his organization that actually succeeded in carrying out multiple killings of police officers.

Take 30 seconds out of your day and sign the petition electronically and then take a few minutes to read a few of the coppers names and departments NATION WIDE that are helping to support this effort here in Chicago.

Then take 30 seconds out of your spouse's day and 30 seconds out of your parent's day and 30 seconds out of your friend's day and get them all to sign this petition. Send a message.

40 Down, 10 to Go

On Friday, Nebraska became the 40th state to allow concealed carry for it's citizens. From what we can gather, Omaha (the largest city - heck it might be the only city in Nebraska as far as we can tell) will still ban handguns (home rule issue) but many observers think that will fall in the coming years.

40 states. And the national homicide rate keeps falling. Do you think those numbers might just prove everything that the libs and anti-gun forces say about "Dodge City" and mass killings are just out and out propagandist lies?

So we've got 80% of the states with concealed carry laws AND national carry for sworn and honorably retired peace officers. Why not Illinois? Granted, outside of Chicago (and a few overly liberal suburbs), you can own just about anything you want for home defense and going to the range. But Illinois concealed carry for law abiding individuals? How far away is it? And what if they can pass a NATIONAL concealed carry for civilians? Hmmm.

Arrested for Drinking Where?

If you've been following some of what we often call "news of the weird," you might have heard that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has been arresting people for being drunk in public - in these cases, "public" = "a bar."

Ex-squeeze me? We thought that was what the purpose of a tavern was - to go there and drink and possibly get a little toasty. From the article in the Dallas Morning News:

• ... a stepped-up liquor-law enforcement program that has included arrests this month of patrons sitting drinking at establishments in Irving. Among those arrested was an Arkansas man who drank several beers at a hotel restaurant before he retired for the night to his room in the same hotel. [emphasis added - SCC]
  

The following is from Instapundit and deserves to be quoted in full:

• TEXAS' AGGRESSIVE ENFORCEMENT of public intoxication laws has generated considerable backlash. Perhaps that's because the Texas legislature seems to be really, really dumb:

  Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, was instrumental in getting the increased staffing, as a member of both the powerful Senate Finance Committee and the Criminal Justice Committee, which oversees the alcohol commission.

  Although he agreed hearings are merited, he defended the principle of in-bar citations.

  "Even though a public drunk is not planning on driving, that could change in an instant," he said. "There is certainly potential danger."

  Even though a Senator is not planning on taking bribes from the underage-goat-sex lobby, that could change in an instant. Best we lock them all up now.

The "nanny state" in it's full glory. We know better than you do. What a bunch of morons.

The Lost Hour

Posting early so we can head to bed.

Did you remember to set your clocks ahead?

Did you remember to swipe in to work today? We haven't gotten hold of the actual order yet. Is it swipe IN only? Or OUT also? Is it for Automated A&A's? Or is it something else?

FINALLY! A Good Idea

Unfortunately, it seems to be by the Cook County Sheriff's Department.

• Sheriff's office to hire 350; vets get 1st shot
• The Cook County sheriff's office begins taking applications today for 350 corrections officer jobs, but only veterans and reservists who have recently been released from active duty can apply.

You don't have to have served in the military to make a good cop. We know hundreds. But a certain percentage of military vets within the ranks contributes to a more professional department. We are supposed to be a "quasi-military" organization. There are rules, there is a uniform, there is a mission. With a whole bunch of vets coming out looking for jobs, perhaps the Department should be out there competing with the County? Communities all over the nation are fighting for qualified applicants for the law enforcement role.

Have We Made Our Point Yet?

Yesterday, someone ticked us off by posting about 20 asinine comments, one right after the other in the span of about 7 minutes.

Yesterday was NOT the day to go and piss us off.

For this, we apologize to our many readers who DO NOT require a babysitter 24/7/365. We of all people truly enjoy the benefit of being anonymous. It spares us quite a bit of grief where we work and in the spot we currently occupy. We mean what we said about this being a dictatorship - you don't like it, go elsewhere, because if we don't like it, it's going to disappear. Simple as that.

We can make this web site as serious and as sterile an environment as you can imagine. Our allowing only REGISTERED USERS is just one tiny step from making this blog a completely fun-free zone. Trust us, we enjoy the photoshopping and the occasionally amusing Seiser asides (we've even participated). But wading through some of this crap is just annoying to us, and we only come here two or three times a day to post and edit stuff.

Let's try to make this painless and enjoyable for everyone. Comments will be reopened to all very shortly and we hope we don't have to teach this lesson again for a while. Because although we got quite a few e-mails SUPPORTING registered comments, it does cramp everyone's style and that isn't what we started this for. We started it for everyone to GET information.

Slap the Police - Go to Jail

Looks like Capitol Hill police are getting ready to arrest Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia) for assault. Followers of the political scene may recognize her as a cross between Farrakhan, Rush and Meeks - an anti-semitic race baiting police hater. Wednesday, Cynthia AGAIN forgot her ID and just decided to walk around metal detectors and security checkpoints. She disregarded numerous calls to stop and identify herself and when an officer finally caught up with her, he got slapped for his troubles. She immediately went into attack mode and blamed all of the white officers on the Capitol Hill police force for not recognizing her.

Capitol Hill police say this is the FIFTH time in recent years Cynthia has had run ins with the police and they're finally pursuing a warrant for her arrest. This is especially justified in that not too many years ago (1998) a gun wielding individual killed two Capitol Hill officers within the Capitol itself.

Democrats defend her, proving once again that they'll back any democrat in a pinch, even one who attacks police officers:

• "I would not make a big deal of this," said Pelosi, D-Calif.

Republicans have a different idea though:

• Ron Bonjean, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., responded: "How many officers would have to be punched before it becomes a big deal?"

Bobby Rush is rumored to be sponsoring a resolution naming the street in front of the Capitol "Honorary Cynthia McKinney Way" along with a special $30 million dollar tunnel system so members of the Black Caucus don't have to ever see police officers ever again.

Post #901

Well, we've fought our battles, won a few fights, lost a few others and made a tiny little difference in the lives of a few hundred people. Many thanks to every single one of the people who have visited over the past 10 months, and a truly heartfelt thanks to those of you who tried to stay on topic.

But we're tired. And old. And tired. And running out of ideas. And tired.

It's been a good run. Hopefully, someone else will step up and fill the gap.