Sickening

Hopefully, you have a high speed internet connection. This video file is rather large. Plus, you'll want to skip ahead around the 62:00 minute mark.

• The place: St Sabina
  
  
• The date: 05 Jun 2011
  
  
• The featured speaker: Supernintendo McCarthy

This is the "The NRA doesn't like me" speech. It's nauseating. He riffs on guns, throws in a nonsequitur about Sarah Palin hunting moose (attempting to equate legal hunting with a rifle to the bloodbath thugs perpetrate on the streets of Chicago), and claims a government conspiracy against brown and black people. In short, exactly the sort of bullshit you'd expect in Pfleger's church, but not from a superintendent who's supposed to be concerned for the public safety of all citizens.

What a joke. But it seems a good time to remind everyone to join the NRA and the Illinois State Rifle Association. Links are in the right hand sidebar.

More Tribune Nonsense

What's the difference between these two stories?

• Story #1 -The groups predict the cost of wrongful convictions will rise because 16 civil lawsuits filed by exonerated individuals still need to be settled or go to trial, including some by men who allege torture by officers under a decorated former Chicago police lieutenant.

  Former Lt. Jon Burge was convicted last year of federal perjury and obstruction of justice charges for lying about torture. Suspects for decades had alleged that Burge and his officers tortured them into confessing to crimes ranging from armed robbery to murder.

  Burge reported to prison in March to begin serving a 4½-year sentence. He was fired from the Chicago Police Department in 1993 over the alleged mistreatment of a suspect, but he never was criminally charged in that case or any involving alleged mistreatment.

• Story #2 - Some of the last words Adelina Najera spoke to her 16-year-old son Freddy were warnings that he shouldn't stay out late with friends.

  Just hours later, however, Freddy Najera was one of three teens killed in a Prospect Heights crash that ripped the car in two. A fourth passenger in the car – an 18-year-old man – was hospitalized and is expected to survive, according to police.

  As her niece translated from Spanish. Adelina Najera said today that she asked Freddy around 10:30 p.m. not to leave their apartment with his friend, who was over for the night. But after she went to sleep, the teens did leave the apartment and were picked up by the two girls who were also involved in the crash, she said.

Story #1 is about taxpayers paying out damages for wrongful convictions, to the tune of $214 million so far. Burge plays a prominent role in the story.

Story #2 is about four teens out joyriding in a stolen car at 3:30 AM, wrecking and killing three of them.

We'll give you two guesses about which one the Tribune has the comment section open for, and the first guess doesn't count. Remember, only one story is worth reader input. Colonel McCormick is spinning in his grave.

This is a Bright Idea

Brain surgeons:

• Three north suburban men face charges of pointing a laser beam at a Chicago Police helicopter Saturday night, police said today.
  
  Arrested were Alvin Kang, 25, of Northbrook, Jeremy A. Smith, 24, of Skokie, and Mark P. Lawrence, 25, of Winnetka. The three face misdemeanor charges of unlawful use of a weapon -- pointing a laser at a police officer, according to a release from Chicago Police News Affairs.

Um, dumbasses? It's a helicopter. It doesn't have to circle around for another flyover to pinpoint your exact location. It kind of stops, hovers and picks out your location. A laser has two ends if you've forgotten - one on the "target" and one at the source.

Too bad we didn't get the Hellfire Missile package with the chopper, but Shortshanks thought that might be intimidating.

Thank You Readers

The comments in the "One Bad-Ass Clown" thread have had us laughing for hours. We haven't had that much amusement in quite a while.

Use this as an open thread for Sunday.

"Test of Nerves"

Sounds like a neighborhood under siege:

• For years, the neighborhood has been terrorized by rival gangs battling over open-air drug markets, said a retired gang investigator for Chicago Police.

  Since 2007, there have been 70 crimes that involved guns — rape, robberies, unlawful possession of a handgun, aggravated battery and murder — around one block of Kildare and Hirsch.

Sounds like there ought to be more police there....oh wait:

• An officer safety alert warning that cops are at a heightened risk of being shot in the area has since been put in place, police sources said.

  On Friday night, dispatchers had been instructed to send two beat cars to all calls for service in that part of town.

So even though they're under siege from gang banging pieces of crap, the cops are going there en masse because you know it's all the polices fault.

Time to stop the fest. Actually, the time was probably 20 or 30 years ago, but no better time than the present. Have Rahm plead poverty, we can't afford it, unwise use of resources, etc. It's outlived its usefulness.

One Bad-Ass Clown

Off duty cop disarms and kills a teen with his own gun:

• An off-duty Chicago police officer dressed up as a clown for a South Side fundraiser shot and killed a teen who held him at gunpoint tonight after the event, authorities said, citing preliminary information.
  
  The officer, who is assigned to the Near North police district, was in his clown outfit for a fundraiser for a day-care business, attended by about 50 children near West 87th Street and South Damen Avenue.
  
  At 10:10 p.m. after the event ended, the officer went to his car and a teen approached him, asking him for money, authorities said. When the officer said he had no money, the teen pulled a gun on him, authorities said.
  
  During a struggle with the teen, the officer grabbed hold of the gun, opened fire and killed him.

Who's laughing now!!!! We mean, seriously. Who the hell tries to rob a clown at a charity event? Aside from the car, what's he going to take? The squeaky shoes? The red nose? A few balloon animals?

A damn fine job Officer.

Humboldt Park Chaos?

Our comment section started lighting up just before 9 PM, but there doesn't appear to be any coverage on the networks, radios or websites.

We're getting unconfirmed reports of stabbings and massive gang fights across the entire park. Supposedly, Tact, Gang and Response Teams are being called out from districts across the city to go to the Puerto Rican festival in full riot gear, even gas teams being assembled?

Anyone have the actual story? We can't imagine anyone missed this one coming. Its been building for days and the weather is only going to aggravate it.

UPDATE: A couple of veterans saying it was normal behavior for the fest, just a couple of larger half-assed fights, mass dispersals and the like. They say it looks worse because we're undermanned and won't fill the wagons.