GreeceRiots

Great Turnout

Chicago police say more than 4,000 people attended a 5K run and walk held to remember fallen officers.

Saturday's event marked the 7th annual Run to Remember at the city's lakefront.

Participants included the friends, family members and colleagues of the five Chicago police officers who were killed in the line of duty last year.

The run/walk raises money for the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, which provides support to the families of officers who have been killed or severely injured in the line of duty.

And a great day for it, too. Good job to everyone who helped plan, run and participate.

CBS and ABC also covered the event.

Overnight Totals

This is last night (Friday into Saturday).

At least eight people were wounded in separate shootings around the city Friday night and early this morning, police said.
There were also two homicides from gunshots overnight -- of a 22-year-old man on the South side and of a 20-year-old man on the Near West Side.

We're sure those totals are short a few. and we know it doesn't count a few Armed Robberies where victims went home with more holes than they arrived with. As it was the dampest April on record, we're sure someone will rush to take credit if crime is "down" again, but the catch-up is coming.

Silence Good for 6 Years

This needs to be the rule instead of the exception:

A Joliet man already serving 45 years in prison for the murder of an innocent bystander received an additional six years today for abiding by his gang’s code of silence and refusing to testify against an associate gang member.

Robert Meza, 23, was sentenced for “serious direct criminal contempt” by DuPage Judge Kathryn Creswell. Meza refused to testify in the recent trail of Antonio Aguilar, 21, of Addison, for the 2007 murder in Addison of Lorenzo Salazar-Cortez, 22, of Berkeley.
State law requires Meza to serve 100 percent of the 45-year murder sentence, but only 50 percent of any contempt sentence. Creswell said he should be released when he is 68 years old.

100% of the murder sentence? That's a first. And releasing him when he's 68? Too soon in our opinion, but you take what you can get in this state. As for the contempt charge, the reason the Outfit started to crumble and fade into the background years ago was the massive sentences handed out for RICO stuff and the unwillingness of younger guys to take the full weight of prison for decades at a time, so they made deals, wore wires and talked - something that hadn't been done before. We would hope this is applicable to the younger gangs.

Is Mr. Layton sexist? Miss. Logic thinks so.

–noun

1. attitudes or behavior based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles.

2. discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex, as in restricted job opportunities; especially, such discrimination directed against women.

sex·ist

1. pertaining to, involving, or fostering sexism: a sexist remark; sexist advertising.

Mr. Layton plans to further increase spending by, "...restoring cuts to women’s programs and organizations." This is sexist towards woman.

(for some additonal insights of NDP position: http://www.trishmcauliffe.ca/post/layton-outlines-plan-to-advance-womens-equality)

Here's the logic:

1. sexism is discrimination or devaluation against a person based on their sex and attitudes/behaviors based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles

2. Traditional stereotypes sadly in our society:

a) women are weaker then men and cannot 'do things on their own' they need help.

b) women are not as resourceful as men and therefore need the help of others to further their cause

c) women are not as smart as men and cannot logically convince others of their position.

3. These above negative and untrue stereotypes are being unintentionally reinforced by Mr. Layton telling women's group's: "you need our (NDP led government) investment in your programs"

4. this devalues women because it robs women within woman's groups the opportunity act out the opposite of the negative stereotypes. Here is how Jack Layton is devaluing woman and reinforcing terrible stereotypes in our society:

aa) saying women are too week to get their own funding from the free will and generous Canadian people, they are not strong enough and therefore need government help.

bb) women are not as resourceful as men therefore they are not able to articulate their cause, mobilize talent and spread a message to acquire their required donations. So because Mr. Layton sees this, he believe it's his job to fund women's groups: if he did not believe it, then why would he insult women by telling them their cause is in shortfall unless he (a leader who is a man) offers resources with funding. (how sexist Mr. Layton!!)

cc) If women were as smart as men, (Mr. Layton obviously thinks) then they would not need funding because they would be able to construct logical arguments that are well presented to appeal to a generous Canadian public and receive their funds (just like thousands of other organizations).

I do not approve of reinforcing sexist stereotypes by telling woman's groups they need gov. funding. I am for elimination of sexism and sexist attitudes. Once again we see the logical peril of manufacturing fairness.

Mr. Layton, stop the sexist attitudes towards women. Let's end sexism in our society and stop reinforcing traditional behaviors that 'women need funding by others to be a success'. This is sexist and Mr. Layton should be ashamed of himself.

Tribute in Lights

Following the tradition of the past few years:

This is a nice shot of the buildings this year. And with the weather so nice, it's probably getting quite a few looks this weekend. Anyone know if the Marine Unit or Air One can get full panoramic shots of the skyline with this?

Daley's Pension

Remember, it's all those greedy police officers and fire fighters bankrupting the state:

When Mayor Daley leaves office in a couple of weeks, no one will be throwing any tag days for him. WBBM Newsradio 780 has learned the mayor will be receiving government pensions totaling nearly $200,000 a year.

Mayor Daley has already notified the Municipal and General Assembly Retirement Systems he wants to begin collecting his pension on May 17, the day after he leaves office.

When he does, he will be collecting a pension of nearly $184,000 a year. Of that, 64 percent will come from the state pension system and 36 percent will come from the city pension system.

[...] Daley has not been in the state legislature since 1980.

And, because Daley has about 40 years of government service, he’s eligible to receive the maximum of 85 percent of that mayor’s salary.

When Daley left the state legislature in November 1980, his salary was $53,000 a year. Blair says the state portion of Daley’s pension will come to more than $117,000 a year. More than $66,000 a year will come from the city pension system.

Go figure that one out. And not in the article, but heard on the live broadcast by WBBM, the pension fund Daley is drawing from has liabilities that are four times the current assets of the fund.

But the evil police and fire fighters who spend 20, 30 even 40 years damaging their bodies and sacrificing personal time with their families, might top out at $60,000 a year to live out their already statistically shortened life spans.

Wysinger Out?

So, was Sneed wrong? Or is this a change from what was leaked? Or another classic case of misdirection by ~~Shortshanks~~ Rahm and the Machine before naming someone not even on the list?

Garry McCarthy — the director of the Newark, N.J., police department — emerged as the odds-on favorite to become Chicago’s next police superintendent on Friday.

The Chicago Police Board is recommending that Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel pick McCarthy or one of two Chicago Police insiders with less experience to replace police Supt. Jody Weis, whose contract expired in March.

The other finalists are Chicago Police chief of patrol Eugene Williams and Debra Kirby, a deputy superintendent overseeing the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Professional Standards. But only McCarthy was on Emanuel’s separate list of top contenders.

We're pretty sure Rahm stated he wanted a Chicago guy (or gal) in charge. But someone is pushing for McCarthy awfully hard to make Spielman and Main write this stuff that's so obviously different from the line Sneed was selling.

And word from HQ is the exempts are in-fighting pretty heavily trying to line up support for keeping their spots (or advancing) once the new supernintendo takes over.

Owner Appeals

Please refer this blog to as many people as possible. We are in serious times and I feel these entries provide solid arguments to maintain a free market and our way of life.

Thank you for reading, your support has been overwhelming.

Top Entry:
http://inspiringyoutothink.blogspot.com/2011/04/so-thankful.html

2nd:
http://inspiringyoutothink.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-ndp-party-is-scared-to-admit.html

3rd:
http://inspiringyoutothink.blogspot.com/2011/04/increasing-cooperate-taxes-hurts-low.html

Later Today: Major Release. Stay tuned.

Temporary Format Change

Shaved directed us to a temporary fix for comments. You'll notice the comments don't appear on a separate page as usual, but you should be able to comment anonymously or with a pen-name as before without signing up for a Google account.

We'll switch back to the old style once we get word the problem is fixed.

Two Different Tracks?

There's a process, or so we heard. And Rahm is doing his own thing, too:

Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel today said he's waiting for the police board to submit the names of three finalists for police superintendent so he can name Chicago’s next top cop.
“I have to respect a process, and that’s my goal,” Emanuel said. “I look forward to getting those names.”

The Chicago Police Board must interview candidates, conduct background searches and recommend three finalists. Emanuel has been been doing his own interviews of potential candidates as the police board does its work.

So is the Police Board wasting time if Rahm has his own career track for his picks?

Life vs Registry

A pie-in-the-sky idea, but we can't see Quinn jailing potential voters for that long:

Earlier this month, the Illinois House of Representatives passed a law creating a “murderer registry” that would require criminals convicted of first-degree murder to check in with the state for 10 years after their release from prison.

The bill was named for Andrea Will, a young Batavia woman who was strangled to death by her boyfriend in 1998, when they were both students at Eastern Illinois University.

The boyfriend, Justin Boulay, was set free last year after serving only half his 24-year sentence. For taking away an estimated 70 years of his girlfriend’s life, Boulay did just 12 years in the joint.

Here’s an even better plan for keeping an eye on killers: don’t let them out of prison. I was all in favor of repealing the death penalty, but if Illinois isn’t going to have capital punishment, we should have another method of permanently removing murderers from society. The penalty for first-degree murder should be changed to a mandatory life sentence, with no chance of parole. It’s a lot easier to keep track of people in prison. Instead of asking murderers to check in with the state, we’ll have prison guards check their beds every night.

While we personally favor removing murders from breathing air, there would have to be way more safeguards in place for us to even consider supporting something like this. Like guarantees against assholes like Ryan emptying the prisons or Quinn from paroling/pardoning/commuting everything in sight for a political end.

Technical Difficulties

Blogger seems to be having some technical problems. Where we usually have 300 comments by this point in the day, we seem to be hovering around 50, with large gaps between in the time stamps. We can only assume that once you, the reader, hits "Publish Your Comment," it disappears into the ether. It will resurface, we just don't know when. So bear with us while we figure this out and when it finally gets corrected, realize we'll be wading through a backlog of our own here.

Open post, but realize your comments aren't get through at the moment.

Fingerprint All Guns?

This is rapidly getting stupid - summarized from an e-mail:

An ASA with the Gang Prosecution Unit is requesting that all guns and ammo seized by the CPD be sent for fingerprints, regardless of the circumstances in which it was seized. Defense attorneys are using the lack of a fingerprint request to claim "reasonable doubt" exists in all such cases. It doesn't matter that fingerprints are rarely, if ever, recovered from a weapon. Defense attorneys are showing juries the boxes on the Firearms Recovery Envelope and claiming shoddy investigations are the policy of the day. The US Attorney and ATFE are doing the same thing on Federal upgrades for weapon charges.

The state crime lab can't even turn around rape kits in under three months, yet we expect them to be able to handle something like 1,000 guns a month?

You're Pfired!

About phucking time:

Cardinal Francis George suspended Rev. Michael Pfleger from his ministry at St. Sabina Catholic Church and barred him from performing Catholic sacraments over public statements Pfleger made about a possible reassignment.

In a letter from George to Pfleger released to the media on Wednesday, the Cardinal said Pfleger’s public remarks that he would leave the Catholic Church rather than accept a position outside of St. Sabina led to his decision.

“If that is truly your attitude, you have already left the Catholic Church and are therefore not able to pastor a Catholic parish,” George wrote.

Good riddance.

Off Duty Shooting

Well done Officer:

An off-duty Chicago police officer shot and wounded a man after he witnessed an armed robbery on the West Side this morning, police said.

The incident happened at about 9:30 a.m. in a backyard in the 1800 block of South Komensky Avenue, said Chicago Police [News Affairs].

The off-duty officer saw the robbery taking place and shot the suspect...

Weapon recovered and officer OK. Only one thing could have made the story any better.

So Thankful... Part II

In the year 2000, my lifelong dream of playing in the NHL blew up and I did not turn pro. I was decimated. I did not struggle with my identity...as there was none to struggle with. I knew nothing of myself. I felt my 'purpose' was gone. I felt alone and like a complete failure. I remember crying for days on end; knowing the 1 thing I was groomed to do turned into nothing.

I got a Job at Wellington Construction working as a general laborer. My dear friend Bert Stevens hired me. The amount of humility required to step into the construction field when I felt I was destined for pro was overwhelming. Each day working there reminded me I blew what I was purposed to do. Adding to this devastation was attending a church that told me "God has good purposes for you". I wrongly interpreted and consequently lived out that I was colossal failure... after all, I blew my purpose so now I must be displeasing God.

Being fit, smart and perceived by others as someone who is going to “accomplish something” put a lot of pressure on me and further highlighted the 'gap' between what I thought I was to accomplish and what I was doing.

I could well imagine my family could see how upset I was and one evening my dad shared something with me that quite possibly could remain the most powerful word ever spoken and I am honored to share it with you. He said, "Ryan you were robbed (from your hockey dream). Robbed blind and it was a gross injustice that you are not where you should be. I am horrified inside as a father that this was allowed to happen to you and I wish in all the world you could have been recognized for what was so painfully obvious." By then I was sobbing for he knew my pain. But then he continued "Ryan, but let me tell you something else…the newborn who was born healthy with no defects, and due to hospital error, is now mentally and physically handicapped: that is an injustice Ryan…that is wrong and that pains me and hurts me to the core to see that injustice against this poor boy. And Ryan, I share your deep pain and weep with you at the injustice against you, I am hurt at your destroyed dream. However Ryan, you need to know that you still have a brain to think. You still have hands to worship God with. You still have a body that does exactly what you want it to do. That boy has a damaged brain and body."

At the time, I felt loved that my father cares for my dreams destroyed, yet at the same time taught me to realize that others too have deep injustices. Dad did not alleviate my pain or elevate the other boy's. He simply showed compassion to both.

In 2001 Brad, Dad and I started a company B&R Custom Machining (now entering our 11th year). During these years I continued to struggle with identity.

In about 2006 I was corresponding with my pastor and he made a little one-liner comment to me that played a powerful role in my development. He wrote: NHL: New Hope Lives. This was an opposite contrast to my personal theology at the time. I felt, "due to no NHL, all hope has died." Fascinating! My source of being helpless (no NHL) was the acronym Pastor used to speak hope into me. Each day I would either dream or think of my past with hockey: it was like an inner prison. There would be so many trigger points that tied back to my past.

Shortly after my Pastor’s words, I decided I want to establish our company values for B&R Custom. I had absolutely no idea what the purpose of profit was. Was it to line my pockets? Shareholder profits? Serve employees? Reinvest for new equipment? Advance suppliers? What is the purpose of profit?

I remember it was a Saturday and I was pacing our shop floor and I said, "God, I am not leaving here until you tell me what the purpose of profit is." I was incredibly frustrated with my despair and lack of purpose. I was “the boss” and the owner of a company, yet internally did not know what the purpose of profit was. So I paced and paced asking God at least 1000 times. As clear as a bell, I recall God saying to me, "Ryan it has to be accessible to everyone who touches your company". I blurted out, "Perfect God… good start… so, what's the 'it'? What has to be perfectly accessible? What?" For another 3 hours I paced the floor asking "what is the purpose of profit? I know whatever it is will be accessible to everyone who touches the company." Then suddenly, in a still moment of silence I heard from God ever so softly, "Ryan, you choose." A world of emotions immediately rose up inside as I declared from my inner most being, "the purpose of profit is to establish justice and the justice is the offering of a remedy".

I felt honored, respected and valued. I felt prized and sought after. I later realized how my father’s and pastor’s short, but powerful words of life set the stage for something so magnificent: out of the disaster of my hockey. Somehow, redemption was in the works. The very foundation that I had built in my first 6 years, and the 4 years since were focused entirely on 'establishing the basics of success' so that others who touch the company have access to remedies: justice. Justice is a big word often thrown out there, yet what justice has looked like for us is too much for this blog, but suffice it to say, it encompasses learning and recognizing the order to how business ought to be run. The value of a strong foundation. Learning how to make a profit while valuing customers, shareholders and employees. This has been an incredible 10 year journey that has taught me so much, and opened the door for so much more I am able to learn.

I am overjoyed to report that New Hope does indeed Live. My hope was found first in a God who loves me and did not give up on me. Through this, I can find hope in my father, who's passionate love for me was clearly expressed at my most vulnerable moment. My hope was found in men like Bert Stevens and Jamie Kubassek who sought me out in the halls at church and asked me how I was doing, taking an interest in my world. My hope has been stirred by Earl Pitts who has seen potential and possibility in me. Where for years he observed I saw none in myself. When I was a mouthy rebellious 15 year old boy he began investing in me and loving on me. My hope is in my wife who smiles when I come home and says, "I am glad you are here".

New Hope does indeed Live. And this hope has recently helped me to realize that my prize was not and is not in playing in the NHL… but in my 2 darling precious girls. I stand proud that I am able to model these shared principles to them. Others loving me is the reason I have lasted 10 years as the front man of B&R: plain and simple.

Sadie is incredible. I love her so much.

Alexis means the world to me.

I have hope that B&R will continue to invest in people, increasing their skills. I want employees to increase their wage and profit from their contributions within our firm: let's invest in excellence and results together. I remain honored that something so horrible that caused so much regret and dejection could be used as a opportunity for me to participate in something quite the opposite: serving others and partnering with people to offer remedies to real problems. Establishing justice.

This is why I believe in the free market. It gives the freedom to look reality square in the face, and along with other people: truly come out on top. A free market often acts like a mirror that reflects your projection back on you. Surrounding ourselves with loved ones is the way we should be picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves off and getting back in the game.

We are looking at a real possibility of a socialist government (NDP) partnering with the Liberals. I encourage you today to live out the lifestyle of a small 'c' conservative.
The free market was very harsh to me. Rejection was almost my middle name. I felt defeated and dejected oh so many times. Hopeless and worthless. Yet, it is not for the NDP to manufacture fairness by programs and laws. It is not their job to 'right this wrong'. For by giving place to socialist principles we lose the opportunity to truly see ourselves as we are and make the required changes for our benefit and advancement. {This principle is not also used to dam the helpless…clearly any sensible Canadian wants to uphold the helpless} Socialism does not give open place for justice or compassion.

In my opinion Mr. Layton, manufacturing fairness with laws and programs is a form of bondage. It gives a 'quick fix' to a real problem. Friends, I encourage you to rise up in good judgment and realize the power behind words of life. See the value of looking at somebody square in the eyes and telling them they are worth it and you are here to help. Friends, as I write to you today, those were indeed powerful agents of hope restored in my world. I know from employee testimony, words of life were powerful agents in them. Advancing them through problems being solved. Words of life are powerful agents in approaching customers with conviction that indeed you care about their situation and will work hard to make things right.

Do not be fooled by Mr. Layton’s charm and 'message of fairness'. I want the same 'end' as he does….Canadians being valued. What I shared with you today hopefully explains how we can operate within a free market and come out on top. If you are in a state of hopelessness, I encourage you today: find just one person who loves you and receive words of life from them. If you are hope filled, find a person who may be struggling with something and speak life into their situation. We have power with our 'vote' but also with our lifestyle of compassion.

Wysinger?

This is what Rahm wants:

The competition to become Chicago’s next police superintendent has come down to a three-man race between a veteran Chicago cop and a pair of outsiders, with a final decision possible later this week, City Hall sources said Monday.

The top three are: Newark Police Chief Garry McCarthy; national drug czar R. Gil Kerlikowske and Chicago’s deputy chief-of-detectives Al Wysinger. Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel was asked Monday whether an outsider can improve the morale problems that dogged career FBI agent Jody Weis.

The Sun Times' Frank Main does half of Rahm's hit job for him with this section of the article:

The only hitch for McCarthy could be a 2005 disorderly conduct conviction stemming from McCarthy’s attempt to get his daughter out of a parking ticket.

And then completes the picture with this paragraph:

Wysinger earned his chops on the day in 2007 when he ran down a gunman who shot a woman in a West Side gangway near his grandmother’s 80th birthday party. His appointment would almost certainly play well with the rank-and-file.

Looks like all of Rahm's pieces are coming together just in time for the inauguration.

Honor Guard Event

Police Memorial events begin shortly and this is one of the more moving ones:

In remembrance and appreciation of the ultimate sacrifice made by the Chicago Police Officers whose names are etched in the granite, the Chicago Police Honor Guard will post a guard at the Gold Star Families Memorial Park for a period of 24 hours on 02 May 2011. Officers and their families are encouraged to visit the memorial during this time to render honors to our fallen brothers and sisters.

St. Jude's is this Sunday and we expect a massive turnout due to last year's losses. God bless the fallen.

The Last Plea?

A guilty plea, but a hint of something else in the offing?

When he first walked into a federal courtroom Tuesday, disgraced former Chicago police Officer Jerome Finnigan appeared calm and comfortable, even exchanging pleasantries with the prosecutor who had been investigating him for years.

But when it came time to admit to a judge that he had tried to have another cop killed, his voice dropped slightly, a hard pounding rain on the courtroom windows nearly drowning him out as he wavered in his admittance of guilt. He first accepted responsibility for planning to hire a hit man but moments later called the plot a "charade."
Prosecutors intend to seek a 13-year prison term at Finnigan's Aug. 11 sentencing. He agreed to cooperate with authorities.

Cooperate? What else are they looking at? One rogue team was all we understood there to be. Ten guilty pleas and at least that many resignations. Are the feds trying to climb a ladder here? And where does it lead?

Whoops

A twist on a familiar story:

The 49-year-old ex-convict was on crutches.

But that didn’t keep James Roesch from escaping from custody at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse at 26th and California Tuesday morning, authorities said.

Roesch was being held behind a courtroom Tuesday, awaiting a bond hearing for a recent burglary arrest, when he bolted about 10 a.m., sheriff’s police spokeswoman Liane Jackson said.

At some point, Roesch “dumped” his crutches as he fled, Jackson said.

He didn’t get far. Officers caught him as he made his way outside into the damp April morning, witnesses said. He was brought back in — with plenty of time to spare before his bond hearing.

At least they caught him quickly.

Exclusive Interview! Breaking (Local) News!

Ryan Jantzi interviews Deputy Whip of the Conservative Party MP Harold Albrecht for his Compassion in Action Blog

Please comment and let's get a good debate going here!

Oh Mikey Mikey Mikey

This wasn't a fight we wanted. It isn't even a fight we needed to have. But as most people know, you don't get to pick the time, place or occasionally, even if you get dragged into a fight. FOP President Mike Shields has decided to pick a fight with the blog. Not only pick a fight, but pick it badly, frame it poorly and conclude it immaturely. The comments are alive with trolls accusing us of all sorts of crap, none of it provable and even more of it just outright wrong. We will attempt to address Mikey and the trolls in this post and frame the debate as it should have been in the first place if Mikey let his brain do his thinking instead of running off at the mouth:

Dear Kid,

Congratulations on your recent electoral victory. You managed to capture the presidency, but you ought to give Bella some credit. He ran a half-assed campaign and pretty much handed you the election. Don't read too much into it. You need to actually run the organization now, gain support, mend fences, build in-roads, introduce and support legislation, negotiate, fight battles, etc.

What you don't need to do is address the blog. The blog has been around for almost six years. When founded, it was touted as the new "Rumor Central" (you can ask an old-timer about that...it was before your time). A bathroom wall of sorts. A place for coppers to bitch, moan, vent, commiserate, exchange info, whatever. Your predecessor was in office for nine years and guess how many times he addressed the blog? We can think of two times total - once at a meeting to a direct question (yes, we attend regularly), once in the president's message. That's it. Donahue realized a president is supposed to lead; to be a big-picture guy; to be the face of the organization. If he addressed every little gripe people had, he'd be ineffectual. He'd also look like a petty ass, as you've so ably demonstrated.

Now, addressing part one of your post. You state in the opening paragraph that SCC was "critical of the FOP because the organization has not come out in favor of the proposed legislation [concealed carry]." Guilty as charged. Did you read the entire post though? All of the other supporters of Concealed Carry? Chicago Police Sergeants. Chicago Police Lieutenants. Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. Illinois Sheriffs Association. That's some pretty dignified company, isn't it? It's also under 4,000 people if we guess correctly. Chicago FOP is twice and more times that, the "big dog" so to speak. Why are we being followers and not leaders? Granted, you can argue that it's Donahue's fault for staying silent for so long, but you decided to make this a debate about our statement and your aims. How better to break with the past than become a leader in the Concealed Carry debate? You did read the Constitution of the FOP, didn't you?

=====
to cultivate a spirit of fraternalism and mutual helpfulness among our members and the people we serve; to increase the efficiency of law enforcement and thus more firmly establish the confidence of the public in the service dedicated to the protection of life and property.
=====

What better way to start making a name for yourself than uniting behind something that's already legal in 48 other states and tracks with the Constitution of the FOP in being good Americans. Oh wait, you've already decided the police are better than the citizens we serve. We quote:

=====
"Chicago Police Officers already have that right"
=====

That certainly seems to run contrary to the FOP Constitution. We aren't better than the citizens we serve. We are entrusted with certain duties and privileges to ensure domestic tranquility and help preserve the rights of all citizens. Driving a wedge between the public and the police will serve to undermine your stated agenda to protect benefits, wages and pensions by alienating those whose support we need to pass legislation, but we suppose you missed that.

And guess what else? Concealed carry IS an FOP issue. Who is going to be dealing with citizens carrying weapons? Who is going to be investigating citizen-involved shootings? We'll give you a hint kid...police officers. Don't you think the FOP would be better served with a well-trained force of officers not only familiar with the new laws, but actually well versed in investigating and enforcing laws that we might have had some input in? We run into more and more officers all the time who not only support Concealed Carry, but join the ISRA and the NRA to support these goals on a state and national level. Polling the membership and being a leader makes sense. Stop following the chiefs, sheriffs, lieutenants, sergeants, and especially the Daleys and see if a leadership role is a road to better days for the FOP. At the very least, we'd establish ourselves as a political force and not a punchline.

And now to the other part of your post. Yes, we are anonymous. We have been so since the beginning. Your challenge to "emerge from the anonymity of his basement" is childish in the extreme. First of all, we don't have a basement. Second, how long have you been on the job? Do you have any idea what happens to people who don't toe the company line? There's a reason we're anonymous and we're pretty sure you know exactly why. Your grandstanding is exactly that - without substance and a cheap shot. Congratulations. You've demonstrated in one single line exactly how you intend to crush all opposition to your rule. We aren't the Lodge. We've never purported to be anything but the voice of the street cop with no aspirations to anything but needling the powers that be, exposing cronyism and nepotism, and pointing out in our own inimitable style the nonsense that goes along with being a Chicago Police Officer.

Have you been clicking on our ads? Maybe going over to our PayPal account and dropping a few bucks in it just to say "thanks for the entertainment"? Oh yeah, you can't, because this is a hobby for us. A hobby. We post 3 to 5 articles a day, moderate 200 to 300 comments a night, pull in 14,000 visits daily and topped half-a-million visitors last month. And we do it for free. You've been in office for a month and posted two articles: One about the 1,300 SPARs story (that we broke here and drove the media to cover), the other attacking the blog.

Wow. How many visits does the FOP site get? We challenged Aguilar to post a hit counter once so we could compare. He never responded, so we can assume that if people want info, they don't go to the FOP website, despite the fact we've given the FOP the top link in our "Police Related Websites" tool bar for all six years. Instead of challenging the blog and making accusations you can't possibly prove, why aren't you using the blog? Maybe there's a way to bottle the lightning. You had your people all over the comment sections during the election, spouting off about your opponents (and they had their supporters here, too). We let most of it go, deleting only the most outrageous accusations and rhetoric.

This brings us to the other part of your post. The truly childish portion. We have never allowed speculation on the identities of SCC. That includes name, rank, assignment, etc. This blog was founded 6 years ago by police officers for police officers. We work the street in the trenches. Any comment guessing or accusing individuals of being "SCC" is summarily deleted without exception for the reasons previously stated above.

That being said, we know you, your brother and others have been spreading certain names around. It pops up in comments, it is whispered in bars, and it appears in e-mails we've received from others (including your brother and other candidates actually). We will state for the record that each and every name bandied about is wrong. And now, as the President of the Chicago FOP, you have a larger responsibility to protect the organization and its assets from harm. Not harm from us, but harm from those you so cavalierly accuse without any proof and without any ability to prove diddley shit.

You "keep hearing..."? Who the fuck are you trying to be? You have a storefront church that needs another few asses in the pews? You need some sort of federal handout or something? We "keep hearing" you bought cuff links for Rahm. We "keep hearing" you are using the FOP spot to run for a state senate seat. We "keep hearing" you like to drink the blood of kittens. You "keep hearing" crap and spreading bullshit, then you are going to get into a shitload of problems and it's going to be our dues money paying the price.

There is a whole host of other issues to deal with. Delegating responsibility can cover much of the tedium that goes with these things, but the buck stops at your desk. Camden, Farrell and Donahue can help in small ways but they can't give you the gravitas you so desperately seem to be seeking by attacking the blog. You are supposed to be the face of 16,000 active and retired members. Stop acting like a child and start acting like a leader. Learn a lesson from Donahue, concentrate on the big picture, and grow thicker skin. Our criticisms of the FOP started long before the blog and have existed since the founding of the union in one form or another. You aren't immune to criticism, but we never named you as the target. You made this personal. Grow the fuck up.

Sincerely,
SCC

PS - We'd probably respect you more if you didn't reply to any of this. We've already handed you your ass.

Did Anyone See This Coming?

What will the Crystal Ball Unit do now?

This morning, Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel named the City's technology leadership team and announced an overhaul of the City's information offices. To make Chicago's data management more efficient and allow the City to respond effectively to taxpayers' needs, the Department of Information Technology will become part of the City's budget office.

Emanuel previously announced that John Tolva, the Director of Citizenship & Technology for IBM, will lead City Hall's innovation and technology initiatives as Chief Technology Officer. Tolva will work closely with Jason DeHaan, who will continue as the City's Chief Information Officer, and Brett Goldstein, who will become Chicago's Chief Data Officer.

So is this going to be another Huberman-type incident where someone goes on a four year leave-of-absence but still manages to keep paying into our pension fund? Or is that nonsense stopping with the Rahm administration?

What's That Smell?

Ingenious in its own way:

The bodies of two unidentified men were discovered Sunday buried in a 15-foot-tall pile of manure at a small horse farm in Gary.

A man who kept horses at the stable noticed an arm sticking out of the massive pile of manure around 10 a.m. Sunday and called police, said Gary Det. Cpl. Mike Barnes.

Police unearthed the body and used a backhoe to sift through the steaming mound of composting manure in search of other remains, eventually finding the second body, Barnes said.

"It was the biggest pile of (manure) I have ever seen," Barnes said. "They've been putting it back there for years."

We're going to assume when Det. Cpl. Barnes is quoted as saying "(manure)" he actually used the word (shit). It's a bit more humorous that way - not that the story needed that much help anyway.

So Thankful...

It was a rainy dark morning in January of 2009; I will never forget. I pulled into B&R hearing on the radio, "and the US payrolls decreased by 650 000" (number later revised further; not good). My heart sank as I knew we were in the middle of a deep recession. Shaken, I walked into work with my tail between my legs thinking, "And we are not fairing much better".

Knowing I am responsible for leading our shop in its current plight. I became overwhelmed fairly quickly. I was not sure what to do. We had damaged sales, slow payables and I was watching a manufacturing industry fall apart all around me. I became upset and 'blamed the recession'. I blamed AIG, GM and big US banks that (Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, JP, Goldman). I felt the SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) failed to do their job.

After venting frustration on everything around me, I realized that my situation was the same. My blaming others did not increase our sales/profitability or get us out of the situation we were in.

Being in despair was an understatement. There were a series of precautions I took to ensure we survived the recession and our 9 year investment in people and our business did not turn into a layoff statistic.

My leading role and responsibilities were bigger than me at that time. I did what I knew best: turned to loved ones.

My inspiration came first from my father, a shareholder who said, "Ryan, this recession is going to be hard but we will get out of it. What B&R is doing is real and you will be a success…fight through this and you have my support". And before I could blink, his support was made known. The man had more confidence in my leadership then I had in myself. This inspired me to pray; "Lord, thank you for people. Thank you that you have given us an opportunity to fight through this recession. I ask for an opportunity to work". Within 1 week, we won some major jobs that allowed me to run parts 'production style' on our CNC machines. I worked 2 shifts for quite some time. I got out of the office, and on to the floor. I learned to be a CNC programmer/operator and ran the lathe. I 'pushed go' on other machines becoming a 1 man production crew. Several days I would simply work around the clock: 35hour shifts.

My wife Abby would remember the mornings I curled up to her at 3:00 am only to wake up and start my day again for 7:00 am. This lasted for about 4 months. I did not realize I had it in me to work so much. But we got the jobs done. We survived the recession. This was a team effort, and I was honored to do my part. I was incredibly thankful to Abby for her support and kindness to me during this trying time.

My beautiful wife! Thank you so much Abby, you are my hero.

Brad (another owner), was nothing short of heroic working hard, smart and he too jumped on the machines and produced.

We made a critical choice to keep our talent and carry a higher overhead with lower sales on the premise that we need to keep our rare Aerospace designations: a decision I look at today as brilliant. In 2010 we won a "Gold Supplier Award" with a major Aerospace firm who is equally if not more passionate about excellence. This is a success story about the free market, valuing people, taking responsibility and pursuing our dreams. I am honored to share this story with you along with some key lessons.

Keeping our talent was a good decision.

Today we employ 35 people, over tripling in size from the dark days of the recession. It is a beautiful honor to have survived and I remain thankful in some key areas:

That ownership was in unity and we all equally stood behind each other
That employees worked hard and did not give up
That work came to us; enough to survive
That the dark days brought several lessons that did not crush us, but made us stronger
That my relationships grew and increased
That we are better positioned for opportunity now, then ever before (with a strong foundation)

The top lessons I learned from this time period that I encourage you with:

1. My words created my reality. When people asked, 'how are you doing?’ I talked about how the recession is hurting us. How we are impacted by the crazy world around us. When my father/brother loved on me, and spoke life into me, I realized that our situation was not the recessions 'fault'. I realized that we choose to buy machines with payments, we choose our business with risk and reward, and we choose not to better prepare for a dark time. Really, our situation was a culmination of our choices. The recession simply was a bold punctuation mark behind our choices. I changed my language to that of taking responsibility for my choices, not blaming everything on the recession. I am proud to tell you that our situation began to change with the change in language. I encourage you today to find people who love you and speak words of life into your situation; however dark or desperate. Life and death are in the power of our tongue.

2. The recession did a great job pointing out 'holes in my game'. I realized we were doing lots of things well, but I found several opportunities for improvement. Don't wait until disaster strikes to learn your lessons. By connecting with people, being open and transparent we position ourselves to hear from others, things we cannot see ourselves. Don't be threatened by this…find a way to embrace it. Advancement comes by embracing responsibility, not running from it.

3. My political passion is tied to how real my values are in work, family and faith. I do not have 'one set of views' for faith that are different then work and another for family. Living from our values I find to be incredibly challenging and requires me connecting with other people: constantly. My passionate dislike of socialism is not simply a clash in ideology. The clash in ideology is a mere disagreement of one way of doing something to another way of doing the same thing. My passion comes from seeing what socialism does to people. How socialism devalues people, limits opportunity, creates 'brainwaves' that says, 'deflect and blame'. Just listen to the NDP…its Harpers fault your family is hurting. It's the banks fault you are paying too much interest on your visa. It's those large corporations fault we do not have enough taxes to pay for our long list of programs. Doing life with people and taking responsibility is tough indeed; especially within a free market. I often complained, "we work hard, value people and re-invest our profits…it's not fair we are getting hurt by this recession". I sounded like a socialist! In Jack Layton's world, everything is about 'fairness'…in the real world it is about taking responsibility and loving/growing with people. I am thankful I learned how to change my thinking by changing my words. I am passionate to help others discover the joy of connecting with people, taking responsibility and embracing their destiny.

Connecting point: Words have power. Jack Layton's words, "Its big business, it's the evil profit by hungry banks, it's not you… it's them! Let the NDP fight for you!" Those words have power if we accept them! If we accept it's 'their' fault and get the government to fight our fights, we are defeating ourselves by entering into a mindset of accepting a thought process which deflects blame to government. This creates a cycle of dependence and you might as well hand the keys to the car over to the NDP to drive. Don't accept such evil and untrue words! You are far too valuable and precious! You need loved ones and words of life, not socialism and deflecting blame! God bless you as you process this data.

The connection between investing in people, learning and growing while developing alignment in home, work and faith is a powerful argument that I believe our world is desperate to see, not hear.

Be encouraged as you reflect on this note and increase your capacity in business!

Um, Info Please?

This is just great:

North Side detectives are warning businesses in the city’s Near North Police District about burglaries that resulted in many “expensive items” being stolen from three high-end retailers in the last two weeks.

However, while police are asking for the public's help in the investigations, police would not release locations, exact dates or times of the burglaries.

Evidently, the detectives wanted to release the locations, dates and times, but they were all afraid to access the reports that had the information available to them. The newest policy seems to be the following:

respond to crime;
write a report;
send report to supervisor for signature (electronic or paper);
bury the report in the decorative shrubbery around the Area Centers in the hopes that someone spontaneously confesses on video and the State's Attorney can then deny charges in a few years.

The Department is getting as bad as the media in not broadcasting the descriptions of criminals terrorizing city businesses and citizens.

Fake Calls

It's times like these we can understand old man Daley's logic about shooting to kill arsonists:

Police are looking for a man who made three bogus 911 calls from payphones Sunday morning, including ones reporting shots fired and an “officer down” on the Southwest Side.

He made his first call at 7:23 a.m. while at a gas station near the 7800 block of South Western Avenue, according to police News Affairs Officer Robert Perez. The caller claimed he was having a problem or an argument with the gas station attendants there, but when officers got to the scene workers there said that was not true.

A few minutes later he moved to another pay phone near the 7800 block of South Western Avenue and told dispatchers there were shots fired, and then hung up. He called back moments later to say an “officer was down,’’ and hung up again, Perez said.

Officers investigated but found the reports were not bona fide.

The potential for major injuries or even deaths responding to calls like these, not only for the police officers, but for innocent bystanders, increases at an exponential rate. And for a fake call like this in a political atmosphere like today, officers would be crucified. Unfortunately, that's the reality today. Be careful out there.

Nice Pick Rahm-bo

Just what Chicago needs:

Chicago’s next Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard was named in two federal lawsuits during his three years as superintendent of the Rochester, NY school district, including one that accused Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel’s controversial pick of age discrimination.

Both lawsuits were filed last July.

The first accuses Brizard of firing Marilynn Patterson Grant, Rochester’s former deputy superintendent for teaching and learning, “without cause” last year after making several derogatory comments about her age. Grant, who is 58, had worked for the Rochester City School District for 35 years.
A second lawsuit, filed by a former coordinator for homeless children and families, alleged that Brizard had instituted a policy of sending teachers under investigation to an alternative work location called a “rubber room” as a form of punishment.

You'd think Rahm's people would have vetted this is some manner. But then, seeing all the scandal-plagued picks Rahm brought to Washington for Obama, maybe he just doesn't care.

Million Dollar Bail

Can we run this guy for office or something?

A Chicago man is charged with attempted murder after police said he sprayed a house with gunfire from an AK-47 rifle.

Judge Adam D. Bourgeois Jr. ordered Maurice Tousant, 32, held in lieu of $1 million bail Saturday on that charge and another count of aggravated discharge of a gun.

Witnesses said Tousant approached the house in the 2800 block of West Monroe Street in the East Garfield Park neighborhood April 3 and shot at a woman and two men who took cover as the bullets ripped through walls and windows, according to a police report.

A million bucks and the only thing this jackass hit was a building. This is what judges ought to be doing regularly.

15 Years = 6?

This must be the new math we keep hearing about:

A former city of Chicago health department employee convicted of running over a cabdriver with his own taxi has been released on parole after six years in prison.

Michael L. Jackson was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2006 for the death of Haroon Paryani.

According to the Illinois Department of Corrections website, Jackson was released Friday from Logan Correctional Center.

Jackson was convicted of second-degree murder in Paryani's death. He was acquitted of first-degree murder and aggravated criminal hijacking.

He was accused of running over Paryani on Feb. 4, 2005, during a dispute over an $8 cab fare. Prosecutors and witnesses said Jackson drove the cab over Paryani three times.

A dispute over $8 and a man is dead, run over three times by his own cab. Adding insult to injury, a 15 year sentence for murder is over in 6 years - 40% of sentence served.

Where's the justice in this?

Preckwinkle Shows Her Ass

Reformer or not, this is a dumbass statement to be making:

In the winter of 2008, then presidential candidate Barack Obama asserted that blacks and whites "are arrested at very different rates, are convicted at very different rates and receive different sentences for the same crime."
Speaking Tuesday at the Fairmont Hotel during an event sponsored by the Executives Club of Chicago, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle echoed that assertion about Cook County's criminal justice system.

"Nobody talks about institutional racism, but what kind of a criminal justice system has an outcome where 70 percent of the people are African-American and the rest are Latinos."

Toni digs herself a deeper hole, somehow equating population breakdown with some bizarre expectation that it should match the population of the jail:

Preckwinkle described Cook County jails as "entirely black and brown people. ... This is in a county where a third of our population is African-Americans, a third Latino, and a third white and Asian."

Then someone comes in completely avoids pointing out Preckwinkle's bullshit:

Steve Patterson, spokesman for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, wouldn't address Preckwinkle's thesis, saying in an email, "At the jail, we just house the people arrested - not sure where that fits with what she's saying."

And of course, the usual suspects chime in with their crap:

Ted Pierson, co-chairman of the National Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression, a Chicago area civil rights organization, agreed with Preckwinkle.

"I agree with everything she said," continuing, "the system is rigged."

"The state's attorney won't even bring the case if they're white," Pierson said.

What a pile of crap. And these people are running government? You have to read two-thirds of the way through this garbage before someone actually cites a study that pretty much proves Preckwinkle and her adherents are full of shit:

Nationally, Preckwinkle's notions have been challenged numerous times. Heather MacDonald, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, challenged similar nationwide statistics in a June 2008 article for the City Journal.

"The favorite culprits for high black prison rates include a biased legal system, draconian drug enforcement, and even prison itself," McDonald wrote. "None of these explanations stands up to scrutiny. The black incarceration rate is overwhelmingly a function of black crime. Insisting otherwise only worsens black alienation and further defers a real solution to the black crime problem."

John Lott, author of the book "More Guns Less Crime," challenged the idea that the nation's drug laws were biased against African-Americans in a piece for the libertarian Cato Institute, published in March 2009. In it he suggested penalties for drug offenses were set up "because the lives of many blacks were being destroyed by blacks and people thought that they could help by having large penalties on those involved with crack (cocaine)."

A 1994 study by Stanford University professor Joan Petersila of about 11,000 inmates in California concluded that sentencing relied heavily on prior criminal record, seriousness of the offense and the presence of a gun, while race played a negligible role.

Just another example of why Cook County is a laughing stock.

Think Twice:

If you are, just vote NDP...then it will be with nails, not rope.

NDP's New tag line...no wonder their popular support is rising in Quebec

VOTE NDP

Spike in Sales for t-shirts...but why? Comment your thoughts below:

With the recent rise in support for the NDP, there has been a spike in sales for this shirt! I wonder just what the connection is???

The online store reported they are making them for adults and racing shipments out to Quebec. Is this a coincidence?

Reprimands for Everyone!

Without citing a single General Order, Department policy, ordinance or rule, the push to repair morale continues unabated:

Chicago police are investigating whether numerous officers improperly looked up internal reports concerning allegations that two patrol officers sexually assaulted a woman while on duty last month, a department spokeswoman said Friday.
The department's Internal Affairs Division is investigating "who accessed reports for what purpose," police spokeswoman Lt. Maureen Biggane confirmed in an email.
Officers found to have looked up the reports without justification could face discipline ranging from a written reprimand to a day or two off without pay, police sources said.
Patrick Camden, a spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents rank-and-file officers, said the department can block access to sensitive reports but didn't do so in this case.
"That's almost like a tacit admission that it's not a problem to take a look at this particular arrest report or case report," Camden said.

It's good to see the Orange One getting the correct side of the story out there. The Department has the ability to lock out unauthorized viewing, but didn't, leading to the conclusion that this wasn't a real priority. And as some people pointed out, we were encouraged from Day One at the Academy to review reports to learn how to write good paper. We have gone through numerous training sessions where case reports were handed out to demonstrate the proper method to write something that would stand up in court. And we're old enough to have sat through a few promotional exams where the "in-basket" portion of the test included a dozen or more case reports to review for accuracy and completeness.

All of these are valid explanations and every one of them ought to be utilized during an appeal of any "reprimand" handed down for this bullshit move. The Department had the tools available to lock this down and failed.

85 Clemency Petitions

Quinn continues to release convicts and erase criminal records:

Gov. Pat Quinn granted 85 clemency petitions on Good Friday, pardoning or expunging criminal records on a number of felony and misdemeanor crimes, including some that were committed more than 50 years ago.

The crimes Quinn wiped from the record include reckless conduct, aggravated assault, robbery, resisting a peace officer, drug possession, burglary, theft, arson and prostitution. Quinn denied clemency requests for another 189 cases.

The earliest offense dates to 1960, the latest was committed in 2004. Most of those who received pardons were initially sentenced to probation or paid small fines.

As listed, many of these charges aren't run-of-the-mill misdemeanors. And it sure would be nice to have those "resisting a peace officer" convictions made permanent so it popped up on routine name checks. But Quinn can't be bothered with that.

A Retiree's Stories

A retired copper who probably taught more than a few of our readers at some point, has a blog.

Click Here to read Jim Padar's site

This is something we're surprised more old timers aren't doing. You've got the Internet, all sorts of free blogging software, all sorts of time, and a million stories that are begging to be told. Some enterprising people might even be able to market a few of the better ones to Hollywood.

That is, as long as the statute of limitations has run out on a few of them.

Setting The Record Straight

Each party thinks their means of carrying out policy best serves people. All too often we hear from the left: "This conservative party has different means of loving people and I think their view is wrong and harmful to others: therefore they are intolerant and judgmental".

A double standard often (by no means always) exist with left leaning people. Mr. Layton and many left leaning policy makers often champion their positions on the following key words: 'inclusiveness', 'fairness', 'tolerence' and being non-judgmental. They use these words to advocate creating laws that reflects their means of best serving others.

If someone on the right has equal love for people, but does not share the same means of getting there, conservatives are immediately called out as (make long list here) intolerant, judgmental, pig-headed, paranoid and a derivative of some phobia. The very 'tolerence' a left leaning person demands for their means of affecting policy is the very intolerance they aggressively attack others with. We see this as soon as disagreement to their agenda is in the air: foul play indeed.

Here's the logic in general terms

1. Canadians desire to serve and love other people (I accept this as true for the vast, vast majority of Canadians).
2. Canadians typically have different means to express their service and love towards others.
3. Generally Canadians are viewed on 2 political spectrum's: right vs. left (and everything in between). This is viewed as a contrast of more government vs. less government
3. More government vs. less has ways of expressing itself: 'means'
4. the means are typically expressed through laws, policy, studies and programs
5. The right AND left both love people! We just have different ways of expressing it.

A conclusion: we ought not to debate against people's desire to love others. We should all accept as genuine our love for others regardless of political stripe.

Please follow this logic; I am no expert in logic so this is quite simple:
Where A is a person (who is either left or right)
Where B is a policy
Where C is an alternate policy to B
Where D is the generally accepted belief that Canadians en mass love others and want to best serve them

A thinks B should be done to affect D
A thinks C should be done to affect D

Simple example:
A (Person-Socialist) thinks B (creating multi billion dollar child care program) should be done to affect D (loving and serving others).
A (Person-Conservative) thinks C (tax relief, not government programs) should be done to affect D (loving and serving others).

Since A is a class of both left/right people AND both left and right want to affect D equally,
what remains is B vs C (i.e two competing policy ideas both aimed at serving and loving others...just B is different then C)
All too often, when the left 'brand's' the right as extremists, bigots, intolerant, haters etc, they are really saying, "B is better then C and unless you stop pursuing C and accept B, you are a "phobia-ism-ist". (By God I swear I just made up a word: phobia-ism-ist).

Neither the Conservative or the Socialist have rights to brand the other person just for thinking differently!
Left leaning policy being different then right leaning policy is no ticket for the left to brand those on the right anymore then the right can brand equally those on the left...i.e we disagree on policy then call the other party intolerant and bigoted. By left logic, we have equal access to call the other a phobia-ism-ist. I challenge any person to come up with a logical and reasonable argument to defeat what I underlined. I disagree with, "You think differently then me therefore you are intolerant and a hater". Please, left learners, make an argument!

Until that happens, I propose a difference in policy is what ought to be debated and discussed!
Small 'c' conservatives, lighten up! We are too uptight! The cat's out of the bag. Many on the Left want to brand you a phobia-ism-ist, which means "you are all things opposite of good because your policy disagrees with mine. We both love others, but your way of loving others differs from mine. I do not have reason and logic to defeat your point...so you are intolerant, phobic-everything, unfair, hater of equality, caveman etc. You are a Phobia-ism-ist." So lighten up. And here is how we ought to respond when we are attacked for thinking differently then someone on the left:

Response:
-Socialists run to tolerance, acceptance and inclusiveness when creating policy, yet viciously attack in the opposite manner those who disagree with their policy. Don't make their doublespeak your problem. Don't react emotionally or defensively.
-Ask the socialist, "how are you demanding I am tolerant to your policy, yet you are intolerant towards mine? ~~Who made you God~~?" Would fairness not suggest you be equally open minded about my policy as you insist I am to yours? Why does your definition of inclusiveness demand I accept your means to our end of loving others, but you reject my means as phobia-ism-ist?" What inherently makes your means superior to my means? These are fair and honest questions that most people struggle to answer.
-Your confidence should come from alignment of personal values lived out in family work and politics. Do this through other people partnering with you on this journey. Let's focus more on caring for others, personal responsibility and acting in compassion then baseless doublespeak.
-When we see left leaning people struggle to extend their core principles (tolerance, inclusiveness etc) to the right, we are watching socialists demand something of others (tolerance towards their ideas) that they are not extending to conservatives (in calling those who disagree with them above mentioned names). When socialists want something of others they are unable to provide, it is not because they are bad people. They are trying the best with the tools they have; so don't get flustered or mad. Be an agent of help. Try to serve the person as best you can.

Happy Easter and may you be inspired to think of ways to continually serve and grow!

This is "Building Morale"?

It sure looks like Rahm is going to have his work cut out for him, publicly stating he's looking to "raise morale" on the Department and then have the following bullshit to have to wade through:

A list of superintendent candidates with more baggage than a charter flight to South America;
Another try by Anita Alvarez to boost her career and secure a federal judgeship by indicting police officers for crimes that couldn't and wouldn't be charged the same on a regular joe;
Thirteen hundred SPARs for reading and/or printing a report without any proof anyone except one person ever distributed it outside of approved channels;
And the newest rumor that J-Fled is sticking around town in hopes of landing the IPRA job under the new administration

16 May is going to be a very interesting start to the next four years.

"Concerned" About Concealed Carry?

This is a misleading article by the anti-gun people over at the Tribune:

Chicago police joined gun control groups Wednesday to voice concerns about flaws in Illinois' mental health screening system for would-be gun owners, problems that could be amplified with passage of a bill to allow permits for carrying concealed firearms.

But evidently, the Tribune has neglected to mention the following organizations that have come out in favor of the Right to Carry in Illinois

Chicago Sgt's Association
Chicago Lt. Association
IL Association of Chiefs of Police
IL Sheriffs Association

The only people who seem to be against concealed carry are the exempts that Shortshanks sends down to Springfield - exempts who owe their continued employment as exempts to the political machine run by a midget who is protected 24/7 by armed guards. And who will continue to be protected by armed guards following his retirement from the public arena, despite the fact we've never seen a credible threat to his safety. At least Ed Burke had the foresight to publicize his threat from 30 years ago and managed to garner another more recent threat from a senile old man when Rahm made noises about removing his security detail.

Strangely absent from the above list - the Chicago FOP. Maybe it's about time the organization polled it's members and publicized where it stands, either with the citizens who know we're undermanned, who know we can't be everywhere at once and who are willing to help us out or with the political masters who don't trust citizens to be responsible for their own well being and less dependent on the government.

Forty-nine other states, just about every single one with a lower per capita rate of crime, can't be wrong. Illinois isn't unique except in it's desire to deny citizens the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

"One Last Chance" Equals Death

A broken judiciary and no accountability:

Judge Thomas Fecarotta Jr. didn't know if he could believe the teen standing in his courtroom anymore.

He'd given Mathew Nellessen, who was back in court because of a probation violation, chance after chance, and the judge's frustration seemed to be bubbling to the top.

"The public is going to say what is with this crazy judge, he got a kid that he gave a break to," the Cook County Circuit Court judge said at a hearing in March, according to transcripts.

Even Nellessen's public defender and the prosecutor had agreed to four years in prison. But Fecarotta opted to give Nellessen one last chance: He credited the 19-year-old Arlington Heights man with time served, released him from custody and recommitted him to probation.

Less than a month after his release, prosecutors say Nellessen murdered his father.

Not just murdered, but slaughtered him with a baseball bat and a steak knife after making him sign over a check for $100,000 from his retirement funds. How could anyone not see this one coming? And what consequence is laid at the feet of the judge? We don't think he's civilly liable. The state's attorneys? Nope, not them either. The system is broken and no fix is forthcoming.

Popular Posts

Please, do tell where I go wrong! Please use logic so I can follow!

Straight from dictionary.com

sex·ism

–adjective

Blogroll

Archives