Drinking, Disappearing and . . .Dying?

A twenty-year-old Oak Brook college student went missing after drinking at a Chicago nightclub Saturday night. Media reports say Katie O'Connell reportedly felt "tired" early Sunday morning and left her own birthday celebration at the club, got into a cab alone, and disappeared.

Stories like this aren't unique. This gal reappeared. More often, the case ends tragically.

Heads up people! Drinking doesn't have to make you dead.

Think ahead. In any group, for any kind of celebration, two rules apply: somebody stays sober and friends never abandon their friends.

No matter how much it pains you to leave when one of your buddies doesn't want to keep partying, deal with it. Put down your booze and go with them. Especially if they are "tired." Date rape drugs are designed to make you sleepy. Then you pass out. If the wrong person is with you when you lose consciousness, bad stuff happens. And that "wrong person" can be the hottest dude or chick you and your friends have ever seen.

Good looking predators stalk even the upscale nightclubs targeting the vulnerable of both sexes. The more you drink, and the less you pay attention when someone buys you a drink, the more likely you will become a victim. Drunks are easy to control.

One sober person in a group of drinking friends can save a life.

If you must take a cab after you've been drinking, particularly if you're alone, note the cab number and the driver's name and text or phone the information to your friends. Make sure the driver knows that's what you've done. If you must put someone who has had too much to drink in a cab by themselves, take the information yourself. Say to the driver, "We are looking out for our friend." If the person is going home to roommates or parents, call ahead. Make sure you know when your friend gets there.

Looks now like this girl was shacked up with a boyfriend or something similar. Good for her. Bad for those who love her. Daddy should take away her credit cards and send her to bed without dinner.

No doubt she will do it all over again next month...

Advertising Tiger

CNN Money reports today that, while Tiger is all over TV, his commercials appear to be on hiatus.

No surprise, there. Also no surprise to me will be the reports we'll read in a few weeks when the furor about his alleged affairs dies down(presuming female servers, hostesses, first grade teachers, cab drivers, ToysRUs cashiers, subway token takers, nursing home residents, the female half of the White House gate crashers, and Nancy Pelosi don't all announce they had affairs with him).

Gosh, I hope not that ditzy gate crasher person. But she would figure, wouldn't she? Matt Drudge should begin investigating.

But in a few weeks when all of this is a fond memory, the ads will return. Slowly at first, perhaps in a few golf tournaments.

And he won't lose a single advertiser.

Why? Come on. You know the answer as well as I do!

The commercial endorsement decisions are undoubtedly all made by wealthy white males who know that their target audience is made up of other males with sizeable disposable incomes and every single one of them, at one time or another, has (a) fantasized about having an affair and (b) winced at the suggestion that Tiger may have "gotten caught" and possibly wounded in the line of duty.

Of course if Tiger's lovely wife decides to leave him, take the kids and nail him in the wallet on her way out the door in very public fashion . . .he might take a PR hit. But only briefly.

I can't predict what will happen to his golf game.

Then again, do we really care?

Arrogance, Thy Name Is MWA

Just when I was considering rejoining Mystery Writers of America comes an action I will brand as one of the most arrogant from a truly arrogant organization. Following in the footsteps of Romance Writers of America which took the respected Harlequin Publishing off their "approved list," Publisher's Weekly reports MWA now has done the same thing. Reason being: Harlequin had the audacity to start a self-published imprint.

According to PW, "By de-listing Harlequin, MWA is barring all Harlequin authors from using their Harlequin books as a basis for active status membership. No Harlequin book will be eligible for Edgar Award consideration, although books published by Harlequin under contracts signed before December 2, 2009 may still be the basis for membership and will still be eligible for Edgar consideration."

Unfortunately, MWA and RWA seem to believe that they are protectors of the traditionally published novel and that, by their actions, they will defeat the self-publishing movement.

It's shameful to see two wrtiters' organizations that have done so much for their genres in the past, not to mention for aspiring authors, fall victim to fear of the self-published.

Fighting Movie Pirates

After my rant the other day about copyright infringement and movie piracy, my buddy Dave told me about a new system in use in some theatres to deter the use of video cameras to record movies from the big screen.

I noted yesterday that it is a significant problem for the movie industry...a 3.5 billion dollar problem, in fact, as estimated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

The new gadget emits a pattern of infrared light across the screen which cannot be seen by the human eye and doesn't affect the movie being shown. It's designed to interupt the infrared signal used by video cameras, in some cases obscuring the video recording and making it unusable for pirated distribution.

A couple of years ago, Warner Brothers reportedly tried a different tack: hiring a security company to shoot video of audiences in theatres during the first week of release of their films. Whether that did any good has not been reported.

The MPAA also filmed a number of Public Service Announcements like this one with actor Jack Black, aimed at young would-be movie pirates:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LkWKvMCzqA&feature=player_embedded

Call me crazy but I think the potential of being charged with a felony, either in state court or federally, would be enough to warn people off. Apparently not.

Video a Movie---Get 3 Years in Prison

Here's something to think about. According to the Sun-Times this morning, a 22-year-old Chicago woman could face three years in prison for taping part of the new Twilight movie in a Rosemont theatre.

The Sun-Times reports she was arrested, and jailed for two nights until she could appear in bond court, for the offense of Criminal Use of a Motion Picture Exhibition. It's a Class 4 felony in Illinois and also an Intellectual Property crime under federal law.

The woman in this case claims she didn't intend to video the movie but was shooting her sister's birthday celebration while trying out a new camera. The Sun-Times reports police found about three minutes of video on the camera, including trailer footage.

Maybe she didn't intend to do anything with what she shot other than show her friends. Maybe she didn't plan to put any of the Twilight film up online, say on YouTube for example. Maybe her intentions were, indeed, innocent.

Maybe.

But, according to the Library of Congress,in an article written to assess the reason for federal legislation, "This misuse of camcorders is a significant factor in the estimated $3.5 billion in annual losses the movie industry suffers because of hard-goods piracy."

The Library of Congress article continues, "Causing greater financial harm, these camcorded versions are posted on the Internet through certain peer-to-peer networks and made available for millions of users to download. According to studies by the Motion Picture Association of America (`MPAA'), camcorded versions of movies in theatrical release account for more than 90 percent of the first copies of motion pictures illegally distributed on the Internet."

My guess is the Chicago woman will be allowed to plea-bargain the charge down to a misdemeanor but the motion picture industry is taking a tough stance against this kind of crime. They may insist that prosecutors take the case to trial. The evidence will be the video she shot...how much of the movie and the trailer she captured.

If convicted, will she spend time in prison? Probably not. Will she have to pay a fine? Undoubtedly. In fact, if she's found guilty, I hope she has to pay until it hurts.

Bottom line: if you steal any copyrighted work, be it the manual I prepared for a college class I taught several years ago (I caught the university planning to use it for another class taught by someone else), a fiction novel, an entire textbook "because it's so expensive" to buy, or video of a first-run movie, it is no more ethical than stealing from a store.

It is theft. It's a crime. And there should be a significant and very public punishment.

Fear of the Self-Published Part Two

I'm using the word "fear" in the title of this two-blog series because of several encounters I've had with traditionally published authors since my first book, Deader by the Lake, was released five years ago.

I self-published "Deader" and sold, according to my publisher who pays me royalties, about three-thousand copies. Doing so lead to a deal with a traditional publisher for my second book, "Every Secret Crime."

A number of my friends who write mysteries suggested that self-publishing was not the way to go. One acquaintance took it further and interceded with two booksellers. Right in front of me, at a conference, she made sure they knew my book was self-published to eliminate any possibility they would handle it. And they did not. Another told me that "self-published writers steal our readers." A handful of reviewers and mystery magazine owners refused to even consider "Deader" for reviews because, as they told me, they would face backlash from traditional publishers and other authors for even mentioning a self-published work. I give kudos to Connie Fletcher, a contributor to Booklist, who not only published a review about "Deader" but wrote a fine feature piece about me. She was one of the few.

Prejudice against the self-published author is real. Writers' organizations refuse to grant full membership to the self-published. Many workshop organizers refuse to allow self-published authors to sit on panels, make presentations or even have their books sold on site. Of course these same groups have no problem taking a self-published author's money if they choose to join as an "associate" member or attend the conference... but not promote their work.

It's unfortunate that the same people who would scream about censorship and other sorts of prejudice, practice it themselves.

I acknowledge that many self-published books are not worth reading. But I strongly believe there are authors who, with some nurturing by their traditionally published peers, could become successful.

Why couldn't organizations like Mystery Writers of America or Sisters in Crime establish some guidelines that would allow self-published authors to receive full benefits? Workshop organizers could follow the same kind of rules in selecting speakers from among the self-published. Say, for example, the author sells x number of books in a given year, or if a panel of select reviewers/editors agrees there is merit to the work. How about establishing mentoring groups within the writers' organizations to reach out to the self-published to encourage rather than turn-away? How about holding sessions at conferences to target the self-published and give them a chance to shine...if their work can stand up to professional scrutiny first?

I can't tell you how frustrating it was to try and attend a movie pitch session in Hollywood, sponsored by Sisters in Crime a couple of years ago. For an organization that did not appear to distinguish between traditionally published and self-published in soliciting members, it was very quick to cross my name off the list for the session...and for several other events that year that might have lead to better sales for me. Some members of the group were obviously more equal than others. Not that any of the attendees came away with option checks in their pockets!

Prejudice is self-defeating. But, then again, the insecure always feel better when they have someone else to kick around.

Fear of the Self Published Part One

As many of you know, I self-published my first book, Deader by the Lake. It was certainly an education for me. I found that many conventionally published authors are quite fearful of those who don't take the usual route to get their work before their readers and the fallout from that fear afflicts not only author "professional" groups but bookstore owners and reviewers.

Now comes the case of "Harlequin Horizons," an imprint of the respected romance publisher. Harlequin joined forces with Author Solutions, a self-publishing house, to create the new division but now, as reported in Publishers Weekly, has changed the name of the imprint after criticism from several author groups. "Harlequin Horizons" is no more...the name now being DellArt Press. According to PW, "There is no mention of Harlequin on DellArte’s Web site."

From the Romance Writers Association to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers to the old-line Mystery Writers of America, author groups that were started by, and continue to have a majority membership of, conventionally published authors are fighting to make certain self-published authors are not given respect or the opportunity to join as full members or enter contests or take part in events which would help them sell their work.

Even the Sisters in Crime organization which claimed to have no prejudice against self-published authors when I was a member several years ago made certain I could not attend a Hollywood pitch session where I would have had the opportunity to network with producers and other studio officials.

MWA made certain I could not hold any office with the organization while I was self-published. Other writers groups and the officials of a number of writers workshops make it clear that only authors who have been conventionally published may speak or sit on panels for those workshops. Some groups, including MWA, have lists of "acceptable publishers" and if a writer was not handled by those houses, they are not considered for full membership in the group.

It is easy to self-publish a book. You write a check and, in a matter of weeks, you will have a bound volume of your work. Most self-publishing houses require no copy or line-editing. They don't even mandate that authors use spell check. There is no requirement for reasonable structure or plotting and no vetting for truth in non-fiction self-published books.

In point of fact, much of the work produced by self-published authors is crap.

Much, but not all. And there are ways writers groups could work with self-published authors to help and not hinder them.

More on that in my next post.

The Absurdity of Hate

A well-educated Christian friend of mine, who also happens to be a conservative talk-show host, wrote this on his Facebook page yesterday: "I don't know if I like the idea of the President sending you to jail if you don't buy into his healthcare policy."

He likes to make thought-provoking statements so I laughed it off until I read the ABC News interview with President Obama that was apparently what sent my friend and many of his conservative colleagues into a tizzy.

ABC's Jake Tapper sat down for an exclusive chat with the President regarding the health care bill. During that session, the President discussed possible penalties that should be paid by people who choose not to buy health insurance. This is the comment the President made as noted on ABC's website:

"What I think is appropriate is that in the same way that everybody has to get auto insurance and if you don't, you're subject to some penalty, that in this situation, if you have the ability to buy insurance, it's affordable and you choose not to do so, forcing you and me and everybody else to subsidize you, you know, there's a thousand dollar hidden tax that families all across America are -- are burdened by because of the fact that people don't have health insurance, you know, there's nothing wrong with a penalty.”

Asked if that penalty should include jail time, ABC quotes the President as responding that he doesn't think the jail issue is the "biggest question" Congress is facing right now.

It was a three-second give and take during a much larger Q and A on the health care issue yet many commentators have seized on it the way my friend did, emphasizing what the President did not say. Obama didn't call for jail. He called for penalties. And he excepted those who are hardship cases. In fact, he very much sounded to me like someone unwilling to go to the jail time option.

Similarly, the President hasn't proposed one gun control measure, yet the NRA and other groups fired up the gun folks after his election to the point that gun prices exploded and demand for ammunition so far exceeded supply that there were shortages. He hasn't proposed any abortion bill, even emphasized to ABC that he doesn't want anyone trying to change the status quo of no public funding for abortions with the health care bill, yet people at my church have told me they hate him because he supports the murder of children. These are devout Christians using the word "hate."

And that, to me, is the bottom line. Those who hate this President hate him personally. They don't just hate his policies or proposals. They eagerly pounce on any morsel of a statement he makes and rip it apart like wild dogs in a feeding frenzy. Their fervor is a murderous obsession. They are terrified of him, everything he does and what he "might" do.

I disagreed with previous Administrations on a number of issues. I have never hated any President. I distrust politicians. I don't hate them. Rapists, pedophiles and those who manipulate the criminal justice system to escape punishment for capital crimes, deserve our venom. Hatred of an Administration's policies? If that's your passion, certainly. Hatred for the person of the President? Absolutely not. That's where many ultra-conservatives cross the line. Not only that, they fear-monger, hoping to whip others into the same frenzy.

Hating someone for having beliefs different from yours, and the obstructionist thinking that has resulted from that hate, is absurd.

Hatred breeds destruction. Is that where we're headed?

Fort Hood: Were There Warning Signs?

It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, isn't it?

There are plenty of indications that this shooter had prior interactions that would suggest to a reasonable person that he was, at the very least, unstable.

You don't "just snap" and kill 13 people.

That being said, who was responsible for tracking him? Were people who heard his alledged rants (including those coming forward now) willing to report what they heard and follow through at the risk of being ostracized as a whistlebower? Anybody can talk to the media after the fact. I used to deal with "witnesses" like that frequently. How many spoke up when it should have counted?

Did the Army receive and ignore complaints about him?

Most importantly, are there others out there simmering, perhaps waiting to do the same thing if they get the opportunity? You can bet the answer is yes.

On another point, why is the government allowing one of the officers who was involved in taking down the shooter talk to the media? I'm listening to Sergeant Mark Todd speaking to Anderson Cooper on CNN. Very inappropriate, as far as I'm concerned, and I imagine the FBI and US Attorney's office would agree. You never want key witnesses in a murder investigation, particularly a mass murder like this one, talking publicly before the case is adjudicated. Yes, in this case there are plenty of witnesses to testify against the shooter but why give his defense lawyers ANY ammunition?

Lots more questions to consider...

Apathy or Entitlement? Or Just a Turn On?

"(CNN) -- For more than two hours on a dark Saturday night, as many as 20 people watched or took part as a 15-year-old California girl was allegedly gang raped and beaten outside a high school homecoming dance, authorities said."

Are you surprised? I'm not.

For years we've heard about attacks on people where others watched but did nothing. This gang rape was probably considered great entertainment by those present. No doubt these are kids who have been raised by largely absent or uncaring parents and who are so bored out of their minds and/or stoned to the gills that they consider anything violent or out of the ordinary as fun. If any of them are interviewed about their behavior they will either deny they did anything wrong or manufacture tears to show their "remorse."

If we put these ratlike children in a laboratory and tested them, we would find they have no sense of morality or social conscience, lack basic social and intellectual skills, have high expectations from the job market but no concept of how to achieve goals. They are those who don't choose to show up for work on time yet complain when they get fired. When they get caught for an offense, whether it's gang rape or drinking in a dorm room, they condemn those who take them to task for their violation of law or rules but fail to understand their own culpability.

My car was burglarized in my own driveway about a month ago. I made two mistakes: I didn't put it into the garage and I left it unlocked. It was a foolish oversight. My bad. Mea culpa. In talking with the officer who came out to take the report, I learned it's not an uncommon problem in my area. He told me groups of gangbanger wannabes from a neighboring community are probably to blame or it could be kids from the other side of town, some of whom are given bags by their parents and sent out to steal all they can to fill them up, sort of the criminal and year-round version of trick or treat with emphasis on the trick. OK, that's bad enough and illustrates the points I made earlier.

But get this.

Folks on our street decided we want to put up Neighborhood Watch signs to show our new vigilance regarding criminal activity. We approached the city for permission. I had a conversation with a traffic sergeant about it today. He told me, "No one else has asked us for this. Other people will see those signs and approach the city to do the same thing in their neighborhood. We don't have a Neighborhood Watch program and we don't have the funds in the budget to provide signs to everyone that wants them." I told him we have already got the funds to pay for the signs ourselves and are just seeking permission to put them up. He told me he will "run that by the Chief" and let me know.

My prediction? Our city doesn't acknowledge a crime problem, nor does it wish to deal with the bad publicity from car burglaries and vandalism. It never has. The city will not approve our request for the signs and we will have to go to the media with our story.

Stay tuned...

Denial: It's Not Just a River In Egypt Any More

Denial is a tough subject to write about and I welcome any feedback you might have about the situation I'm going to outline.

I know a young man of ten who is fascinated by guns. He reads about them. Any time he goes to the library or a bookstore he demands to get books or magazines about them. He sketches pictures of them. He talks about them. This young man was brought up with two older sisters who torment him ceaselessly. From what I'm led to understand, his mother and father didn't realize he couldn't read or write until he was about eight years old even though he is a student in a well-regarded private school. Remedial help is now being given but he is described as withdrawn and very angry. Cousins choose not to play with him because he is so angry and acts so childlike.

His mother allows him and his sisters to leave toys and clothes heaped on the floors of not only their rooms but their bathroom as well. In fact, two rooms of their large, expansive home are now so filled with junk they are impassable.

Their mother is strict with them, but secretive with the rest of the family. No one knows their daily routines, their vacation schedules or even what they do for recreation day to day. Phone messages are often answered by email several days later. All of the children are reported to be on medication of some sort; the ten year old takes eleven or twelve pills a day but his mother will not tell anyone what the pills do or if, indeed, they have been proscribed by a doctor or are over-the-counter.

Through all of this, his mother is oblivious. Suggestions by relatives go unheeded. Questions about the children are unanswered. The father responds, "I don't know" to most inquiries about the family, even basic ones.

Grandparents are not willing to take any action whatsoever.

The CIA could use these folks in a training video about clandestine living.

I've been asked to visit with the little boy on occasion. I know quite a bit about firearms that I could probably teach to him on a ten-year-old level. I also know quite a bit about how angry little boys with a fascination for weapons and violence can grow up and do things that shock their families. Frequently they are said to have "just snapped" although professionals will tell you they have been well-trained throughout their childhood to behave just that way.

Should I talk with this child about firearms and teach him not only the good but the bad things that can happen? Or should I find another way to interact with him? I don't know much about dealing with kids though I know a great deal about what some of them have done. I don't want any of that to touch him or his family.

Any ideas from you moms and dads and assorted professionals out there?

Street Crime and Packin' Heat

There's a story in the Chicago Tribune today about a mugging victim who moved from the city to the suburbs because she doesn't feel safe (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-chicago-muggings-24-aug24,0,3762222.story?page=2).

Pretty common theme, actually. Not everyone who gets mugged moves, of course. Some can't, others choose not to give up and let the creeps win. All who have been victimized live with fear, however. It may just be a tiny bit that's hidden way in the back of their minds. A niggling doubt as they pass someone a little sketchy on the street. Or it may develop into full-fledged, weapon-carrying paranoia.

Pistol packin' disturbs me the most. Sure it's fine to tell your bar buddies you're ready to blow away a bad guy. The fact remains, drawing and using a handgun during a street crime requires speed, dexterity, an adamant sense of purpose and a willingness, not just to wound but to kill. If you haven't been trained properly, blowing away that "bad guy" may have catastrophic results.

We're talking about a window of opportunity that opens for mere seconds. Identifying the threat may occur when it's already on top of you. How far away is your attacker? Is he armed? What with? Who's in the shadows behind you? For that matter, who is in range of your bullets behind your attacker? Are you being attacked at all or is it your overactive imagination? In some places, merely reaching for your weapon may be construed as a crime so you'd better be absolutely certain your life is at risk.

Have you practiced with that pistol in simulated tactical situations or just on the vanilla pistol range? Do you have any idea of the legal labyrinth you enter when you take someone's life? What if it happens by accident?

I believe in the right to carry a concealed weapon and would like to see Illinois adopt a progressive new statute to allow it. I believe even more strongly in common sense.

That may be the best weapon we own . . . and one that should never be kept concealed.

A Mockery of Justice

If you blow up an airplane full of innocents, I don't care if your prostate is the size of your head and you've grown a third leg in the middle of your forehead...you don't deserve "compassionate release" from prison.

I love the Scots, am part Scots myself in fact, but they blew it releasing the Lockerbie bomber. He's dying of prostate cancer? Fine, let him die. Releasing him makes a mockery of everything free nations are trying to do to combat terror.

Many American politicians including the President have condemned Scotland's action but, truth be told, the very same thing might have happened had the man been a prisoner here in the states.

We've lost our frontier ethic. We're no longer the sort of people who, having shot our enemy, will routinely go up and put a final round in him just to be sure he's dead. We're soft on gangs but we go after guns, hoping that will solve the problem. We let drunk drivers have four, five, six chances and more until they finally get behind the wheel and kill someone. And then we sentence them gingerly at best. We assign our cops to chase pot smokers while billions of dollars of cocaine and heroin are flowing into our streets. We release career sex offenders from prison and then beat our breasts when, surprise! they rape and murder our children.

That wonderful Scotsman, Sean Connery, put it best in The Untouchables:

"They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. *That's* the *Chicago* way!"

Had it been up to me, the Lockerbie bomber would be dead already. Told his cancer was terminal, I would have kneecapped the bastard and dumped him atop of a landfill to rot with the rest of the garbage.

That, my friends, is the sort of compassion he and his colleagues understand . . . and deserve. That's the Chicago Way.

Say Goodbye to Saturday Mail Delivery

Bob Greene, writing an online column for CNN, reports today that Saturday mail delivery may become a thing of the past. I haven't seen any other articles on the subject but Bob says they were lost amidst the more urgent news that's been happening this summer...Michael Jackson's death, the showering of a baseball player with beer, all of that stuff.

For the moment, I'll take Bob's column as fact because it gives me something to blog about.

Frankly, I think he gets all misty-eyed sometimes just to be able to write about getting misty-eyed. He talks about the "giddy anticipation of seeing the mail carrier strolling up the sidewalk" as though he was back in the malt shop at college waiting to run back to the dorm and see if he's gotten a letter from home.

"Giddy" isn't a way I would describe waiting for my mail. At least not since the box has been routinely filled with catalogs, bills and solicitations from charities like Mercy Home that should be taking the money they spend on mail solicitations and using it to feed and house their kids.

Every day, I take at least ninety percent of my mail straight from the box to the recycling bin.

The U.S. Postal Service is a huge, clunky governmental bureaucracy that's hemorrhaging money. . . $7 billion this year, if Greene's facts are correct. If eliminating Saturday deliveries will cut $3 billion of that, go for it.

In fact, how about mail-less Mondays, too?

Angry

Is it my imagination, or are we an angrier and more unconcerned species than we were years ago? Nastier generally. More mean-spirited toward each other.

A fan throwing beer on a professional ball player. An entire city harboring a grudge for years against another fan who caught a foul ball at an inopportune time. An entire political party so enraged at having lost the Presidency that it will do just about anything to see his policies fail, even at the risk of damaging the country. Mortgage lenders in such heat to make their fortune on the backs of new homeowners that they deal a critical blow to our financial system? A train engineer who is talking to friends at the time of a fatal collision. An air traffic control supervisor out of the tower and his employee chatting with a girlfriend while a plane and a helicopter collide.

How many stories could you add to that list in the next few minutes?

Then there are the daily injustices perpetrated by kids with illegal guns. The almost delighted way they take human life...women, kids, the elderly...with little concern for the consequences. I suggested, seriously, this morning that we should consider establishing a Kevlar for Kids Fund for children in the neighborhoods where gangbangers rule.

Crooks are everywhere. Crimes personal to me. A burglary down the block with high school kids the perpetrators. My friend Joe held up at gunpoint while delivering sandwiches. Again, high schoolers holding the shotgun.

Every generation, when it reaches a certain age, looks at the world and thinks it's going to hell in a handbasket.

I guess it's my turn to make that observation.

What a shame.

Why Sarah Palin Makes My Teeth Itch

If Sarah Palin were a man, she'd be one of those old-style, suspenders-wearing and cigar smoking politicians (usually of indeterminate party affilliation)who were a mainstay of movies through the forties and fifties.

You know who I mean. The minor characters who talked out of the corner of their mouths, patted little boys on the head, muttered under their breath about people of other races, and gave speeches that honored the flag, conservative values, middle-America, and apple pie.

In other words, she's superficial as hell.

She tosses off sound bites with the shameless fervor of a movie critic cuddling up to the studio bosses, pushing all the right buttons to make the Republican Faithful grin and nod and give her a frightening thumbs up. Thing is, though, I think her knowledge of the important issues facing America today could be measured with a teaspoon.

But, let's try a little experiment.

I took American Government during the summer between my junior and senior year of high school. My teacher was a guy named Bill Dinges. I remember him because he taught by the Socratic method and had only one rule. We had to speak in facts, not opinions. Slogans and one-liners weren't allowed. We could take any positions we liked but we had to justify them with well-founded research. And he cross-examined everyone about everything.

I'd like Sarah Palin to submit to questioning by a guy like Bill Dinges. Not a law or political science professor or Sam Donaldson-type. Just a quick-minded high school teacher who understands the issues, asks thought-provoking questions and would require Palin, his "student," to rigorously defend her answers.

Let's put the two of them across a table from each other on national TV for an hour or so. No moderator. No researchers or flacks. Just Sarah and the teacher.

A simple enough assignment for someone who wants to be President, don't you think?

Unfortunately, the results would terrify us. And, because of that, the Republicans will never allow such a Q and A to take place.

Better she be left to pat us on the head with one hand while waving an American flag in the other, all the while serving up messages that are the political equivalent of cotton candy.

Random Thoughts on a Rainy Tuesday Night

My old friend John has cancer of the esophagus and stomach. He found out last Friday. They also noted "spots" on his liver so, today, he had a PET scan.

Why does he have to wait until Friday to find out the results? What sort of heartless bureaucrats are these people in the medical community that they make a man who is gravely ill wait three days to hear if the cancer is spreading throughout his body?

In cases like his, someone should be reading the results to him as they show up. We're the most technologically advanced nation on earth. Figure it out, people!

Elsewhere...

A reporter friend asked me today if the New York Post's action in printing a picture of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews that was taken illegally is, in and of itself, illegal.

You'd like to think so, wouldn't you? You'd like to think that our Constitutional guarantees to right of privacy would protect a naked woman in her own hotel room from having some Cheese Whiz of a lowlife huckster snap secret pics of her.

Paparazzi photographers and the celebrity-hunting press, which obviously includes the Post, have pushed the envelope so far in the recent past, however, I'm not sure a judge would rule in her favor.

It will be interesting to see if her attorneys file a lawsuit against the paper and if they don't, why not?

Personally, I think whoever shot the pictures is a heartless and sexually immature excuse for a cretinous human being who women have always laughed at for having such a tiny penis.

RIP Uncle Walter. You Were The Best.

I got into journalism because of Walter Cronkite. I left when I realized the industry no longer seemed to value the ideals and ethics on which he based his career.

In Cronkite's day, journalism was straight and narrow. It was the business of bringing the news to the people as facts. We rushed to the scene. We checked our information. We double checked it. We tried to verify everything before we put it on the air and we didn't add our opinions. I was taught to, "Get there first, get the story fast, get it right and get it out!"

The true professionals of the business still embrace that philosophy. But, more and more frequently, cost, offhand ethics and basic laziness dictate how stories are covered. Some local stations don't send reporters to an event at all, arguing that a phone call will suffice and is far cheaper than having personnel on the ground. Sometimes the reason for not going to the scene is more dubious. News bosses know if they miss a story, they can always snatch a fact or two from newspaper websites or even from the competition. One of my former bosses called that "reporting with smoke and mirrors." I call it dishonesty. But I would guess it's condoned in every news market in the country every single day.

Here's a fact you may not know. TV stations in Chicago (except Channel 7), Washington D.C., Atlanta and other cities now pool their coverage of "routine" and even some breaking news. It's not used for every story every day but it works like this: stations supply crews to the pool. One crew shoots a news event and shares the video, presumably the facts as well, with all of the stations in the pool. There's no longer a race to be first to the scene of a burning building or a crime story because, hey, no competition! If the crew doesn't make it until the fire is out, so what? Many editors believe pictures of hoses being rolled up tell the story just as well as flames shooting out windows and rescues being made. For them, the necessity of seeing news happening rates a big shrug. After all, it's more cost effective to use aftermath footage. Unfortunately, if the pool crew gets the story wrong, everyone using that version of the story gets it wrong. If the pool crew doesn't interview eyewitnesses and relies only on official sources, only the official spin gets aired. Great for the officials. Maybe not so good for for the truth.

What is pool coverage but a slightly more respectable form of smoke and mirrors? Does it give us the coverage we expect? Do the stations even admit each time they use pooled video? Watch awhile and answer those questions for yourselves. And then ask another: what happened to "get there first, get the story fast, get it right, and get it out?"

Broadcast news no longer advises: it homogenizes. That's a tragedy.

Cronkite was appalled by it.

If we really want to honor his memory, we should be, too.

A Real American Hero

My friend Jim Goldman, retired Chief of Police at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, forwarded this to me.

I thought it was worth including here.

From: Steve Morgan
> Subject: FW: Band of Brothers Hero
> Date: Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:22:48 -0500
>
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:47:02 -0400
> Subject: Band of Brothers Hero
> From: kbkuklok@gmail.com
> To: kbkuklok@gmail.com
>
>We're hearing a lot these days about big splashy memorial services.
>
> I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.
>
>Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in
several of them.
>
> I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who
he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his
ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and
noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.
>
> Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his
son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him
for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.
>
> Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was
in until sometime in 1945 .. . . " at which point my heart skipped.
>
> At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at
Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At
this point my heart stopped.
>
> I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was.
At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem." I
was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was
June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.
>
> I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes. And
it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that
are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't
know what to say.
>
> I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach,
while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said
that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the
seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.
>
> He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some
who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very
happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as
I write this.
>
> Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.
>
> There was no parade.
>
> No big event in Staples Center.
>
> No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.
>
> No weeping fans on television.
>
> And that's not right.
>
> Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way.
Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.
>
> Rest in peace, Shifty.

Check Out That Booty!

I'm not reprinting it because you've all seen it...the widely circulated and argued over picture of President Obama at the G-8 Summit supposedly checking out the bum of a teenage delegate.

First of all, I've looked at the video a dozen times. I frankly don't see it as a case of Obama Ogling. To me, he's watching the steps, waiting for the woman behind him to come down so he can take her hand and assist her. If you want to see it the other way, that's up to you. I haven't taken the video apart frame by frame or had it analyzed in a video lab. I do think all the guff about it is pretty silly.

What isn't silly at all is the debate over gays in the military and Don't Ask Don't Tell.

It makes no sense to me to send home perfectly good warriors because of their sexual orientation. And that's exactly what we've done. Numbers of troops equal to three brigades, or 35 thousand individuals, have been given their walking papers.

To what end? So other soldiers, sailors and marines don't have to worry about being propositioned? Good grief.

Personally, I don't care if someone has two heads, green skin color and a sexual orientation toward thorny roses. If they can, as Representative Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania, puts it "handle an M-4 rifle and kick down doors" they should be allowed to serve.

Come on people. If we allow Don't Ask Don't Tell in the military, I suppose we should apply it for police and fire departments too. Particularly fire departments because, holy moley, their members bunk together! How about EMT's? If we're going to take it there, how about physicians? Nurses?

Frankly if someone is trying to save my life, it doesn't make a whit of difference to me who they live with, partner with or party with.

If they're risking their lives for our country, God Bless them whoever they are.

Is Anybody Listening?

The Naperville Sun reports this week that the cities of Aurora and Naperville are in the process of buying new two-way radio systems for their police and fire departments. The communications gear used now is ten to fifteen years out of date, they say, and besides, in the post 9-1-1 era, they need better "interoperability."

That's the new buzz word. Interoperability. What it means in simple terms is...in a disaster, all emergency responders want to be able to talk to each other. Wonderful concept.

Except the new system Aurora and Naperville officials are buying, at a publicly stated cost of $20 million, is designed to do just the opposite. Yes, it appears to allow Aurora and Naperville agencies to talk to one another to their hearts' content. But mutual aid responders? Not so much. Outside departments summoned to assist with emergencies won't have any better "interoperability" with Aurora and Naperville than they do now and, mostly, it will be worse. In fact, other agencies won't even be able to hear the new communications system without purchasing or borrowing extremely expensive new gear and from a sole source provider at that. Who pays? I'd venture to guess the individual departments will, not Aurora and Naperville. A good example of hidden costs. Of course the plan may be to loan radios to units coming in from other jurisdictions but that's a laughable concept to anyone familiar with police and fire bureaucracies. They won't have the radios when they really need them. The radios that are loaned won't work or just won't be charged. There won't be enough of them. And the outside responders won't be trained in system protocols...ie: they won't know how to run 'em, police radios nowadays being just about as confusing to the average non-gearhead copper as a high-end cell phone, iPod or TV satellite receiver.

What Aurora and Naperville really want to do is make their police and fire communications "more secure." Police agencies have been trying to do that for as long as medical researchers have been trying to cure the common cold. Translated, it means they don't want you and me (and the three master criminals who are scanner savvy) and especially the scary, scary news media listening to them on easily purchased scanners.

The thinking is not new. I started in the news business in the 1970's. Cops regularly warned me that, by responding to police and fire incidents after hearing them on my ten-channel scanner, I was endangering emergency personnel and would therefore be subject to arrest! Yawn.

Here's my take on the Aurora/Naperville plan.

First, any publicly funded agency that feels it has to hide its daily routine from the people it serves doesn't understand its mission statement. It goes without saying that police departments should encrypt their sensitive communications. But "sensitive" would be things like homicide/gang crime/drug investigations and SWAT responses not barking dog calls, domestic fights, traffic accidents and house fires.

Second, if administrators put away their "who's listening to us?" paranoia, especially as regards the news media, and really concentrate on designing a system that is interoperable, they would find better and cheaper technology that doesn't rely on a single provider for service.

Third, the Chicago Police and Fire Departments are still working with a radio system that was state of the art in the 1960's. Forty years ago! I'm sure many Chicago coppers don't like the idea of crooks listening to them or having scanner buffs and the media showing up at their crime scenes but they manage to work around the annoyances just fine. Chicago, too, is planning to upgrade their equipment but with truly interoperable radios other agencies can easily buy if they choose to do so.

So what are Aurora and Naperville doing that's worth spending $20 million to hide?

On Not Being Bullied.

Kids in school loved what happened when they punched me. I would wail, "Stop it, that HURTS!" and cower in a corner. After years of taking the abuse, however, I started hitting back. And kept doing so until I neutralized the threat.

I'm not a parent but from the perspective of a former victim and ex-cop, here are some thoughts about dealing with bullies.

1. Don't just tell your kids to fight back, teach them how. Yes, the Bible encourages us to turn the other cheek, but it also tells the story of Elisha who cursed his bullies in the name of the Lord and saw them mauled by bears. If you don't know how to fight, find someone who does. Metropolitan areas have martial arts schools on every corner. In smaller towns, ask law enforcement who trained them. Go online. Competency in any sport helps build a child's confidence. Call your park district. Check into boxing or wrestling clubs.

2. Kids shouldn't have to fight alone. My parents were halfhearted at best in their protests to the school and, frankly, schools are only part of the equation and will often deny responsibility. Telling a child who has been bullied "suck it up" because that's what your dad ordered you to do isn't good enough. Neither is moving them from campus to campus. Become your child's advocate. Listen to what they say. More importantly, watch for signs of what they aren't telling you, specifically anxiety about going to school or a group event, depression, self abuse (cutting themselves, for example) or talk of suicide. Encourage them to be frank and open about the problem; don't punish or ignore them when they speak up. Take the time to be sympathetic. Trust them.

3. Use the information they give you to alert their school to the problem. And keep alerting, every time bullying occurs. Document injuries. Talk to school counselors first, administrators next. If the school refuses to react, take the problem to the school board or the superintendent of schools for your district. Talk to an attorney, the police or even the local media. Speak up and make a case for your child. Just as bullies are cowards and fear exposure, schools are like any bureaucracy: they're afraid of lawsuits and bad publicity.

4. Don't blame your child for the problem. You may not approve of their tastes in music or clothes or even their lifestyle, but do they deserve black eyes and bruises from their peers for their alternative beliefs? A child who is victimized for wearing dark clothing or just being "weird" at school may also be a victim at home...and not necessarily of direct abuse. How's your drinking, Mom? How much time do you spend at the office, Dad? Look at your relationship with your kids. If they bring you a problem do you try to help them? Do you work with them on it, solve it for them, or brush them off? Do you drop them at the mall or the game arcade so you can enjoy an evening out or do you find appropriate activities for them? Do you pay attention to, and enjoy, your children or do you ignore them? I'm not talking about love, here. Do you like your kids? Do you have fun and get a kick out of spending time with them? Do you support them? Do they know it?

5. Read all you can about the problem of bullying. If you don't know where to start, here is a Chicago Tribune article that may open your eyes to the problem:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-bullying-01-jul01,0,3476.story

Bullying is not one of those, "Oh Bobby will grow out of it" issues.
As the Tribune article illustrates, your bullied child may not live long enough to have that luxury.
---------
Here are some websites with helpful information:

http://www.theprotectors.org/Protectors_Lesson_Sample.pdf

http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/bullies.html#

http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/

http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/HHS_PSA/pdfs/SBN_Tip_7.pdf

Bullied, Battered and Bloody

A Chicago Tribune article yesterday got me thinking.

From about age six to age eleven, I was a victim.

Bullies beat me up on my way to school. They pushed me into chairs and lockers between classes. They lay in wait for me afterward, too. Even a girl I had an enormous crush on helped them with a neat trick called "tripped by the dog." She dropped to her knees behind me so a couple of my tormentors could shove me backward over her.

Fed up with my bruises, my headaches, my fears of walking or riding my bike to and from school and elsewhere, my parents sent me away to summer camp. Unfortunately, they didn't consider who some of the other campers might be. Those two summers were hell.

It wasn't until boarding school that I brought the bullying to a halt.

A kid shoved me down a flight of stairs one day, hurting me so badly I had to go to the hospital. Actually I faked most of the injury because I thought I could get a ride in an ambulance (which I did) and out of doing homework (which I didn't). The next day he shouldered me into a wall. I remember the searing white anger that propelled me to punch him twice, trip him, and then smash his head into the floor. I did such a good job that a teacher came up to me later, shook my hand and asked me how it felt not to be a crybaby any longer.

It felt pretty good. So good I started reacting the same way each time I was attacked. I added screaming as an additional weapon. Not the thin little pitiful whines of before but the sort of sounds I imagined Sergeant Rock from my favorite comics would make. I took a brick to one kid and a dumbbell from my brothers' weight set to another. And that's where it stopped.

They thought I was nuts. I went looking for fights. So the bullies made friends with me instead.

And no, becoming a whack-job is not the moral of this story or what I'd suggest to kids of today who face the same kind of turmoil I did. But it sure helps.

More on fighting back tomorrow.

A Couple of Quick Thoughts

(Reporting from the backyard gazebo/88 degrees and awesome)

Just a couple of quick thoughts on a brilliantly beautiful Saturday afternoon, the first day of summer in Chicago...

President Obama needs to speak out on Iran. Specifically, the protests, the government's snatch of media credentials from foreign correspondents and the beatings of students in their dorms to keep them off the streets. We don't need to send in troops but a strongly worded speech decrying what the Iranian government is doing to its people is absolutley necessary.

People who aim their cars at bicyclists who are only on the street to avoid broken sidewalks should be . . . given a stern talking-to! (In light of the above paragraph I can't call for violence, can I?)

Of course Nestle's HAD to recall the pre-prepared dough for my favorite cookies. Good grief! If you eat raw cookie dough (containing raw eggs) you should expect to get sick. Like I did. Once. Before I realized what I was eating. Barfed for two days.

Speaking of throwing up, anyone who believes the plot line of John and Kate Shouldn't Be Mates needs to understand that everything in the media now about that show is there for one reason: to promote the show. Cheating stories, divorce stories...it's all scripted. Think professional wrestling. This is the domestic version of WWF. I'm surprised no one's car has blown up yet. Of course, the divorce isn't filed. Just wait for it. Right around the corner. Filed under: BUILD SUSPENSE.

Have a great weekend folks!

How To Get Into Trouble With Just Two Blogs/ Part Deaux

I don't know who looks goofier. Me or that silly target behind me. At an outdoor range with only one other person around, with all weapons/magazines empty and checked by two people, I don't mind acting a little goofy and posing with a couple of guns. You'll notice, however, my finger is off the trigger and the weapon is pointed in a safe direction.

The subject of carrying a concealed firearm isn't goofy, although some people's opinions about it are.

The concealed-carry class I took, which allows me to legally tote a gun under my coat in thirty-five states, was six hours long. The classroom stuff was good, taught by a retired attorney and professional handgunner who really knew his stuff. The "range qualification" was a joke.

When I left that concealed carry, or CCW, class, I had some good information in my head but had been offered no instruction in, nor time whatsoever to practice, the skills necessary to defend myself in a crisis. What kind of holster to buy. How to conceal the holster. How to draw from a holster. How to deploy the handgun from holster to target safely. The tactics to use in a shootout.

There are excellent classes available for people who want to learn how to protect themselves with a concealed weapon but the required-to-get-Florida/Utah-permits CCW class I took, which is generally what's required across the country, wasn't one of them. And that's scary. What's scarier are the folks who believe they should be allowed to carry their concealed weapon on their college campus "just in case" a nutjob attacks, as happened at Northern Illinois University and elsewhere.

Just establishing the proper mindset to carry a concealed weapon takes specialized training. Hundreds of hours have gone into preparing the courses offered to law-enforcement. While civilians could do with less, there still must be attention paid to the psychological, as well as physiological, factors. Reality-based tactical drills need to be practiced until they are second-nature. CCW students need to know when they should shoot, but also when to back down and run if they have even the slightest option to do so. They need to know how to conceal their weapon so that it comes to hand easily and safely yet isn't visible at any other time.

To say anyone with a concealed weapons permit should be allowed to carry their gun into a classroom on the infinitesimal chance that they would happen to be in the right place at the right time to confront a killer is nuts. First of all, even SWAT- trained operatives know that the worst time to draw a gun is when someone already has the drop on you. And second, the vast majority of CCW permit holders probably aren't aware of the first point and don't have the tactical skills necessary to respond anyway.

My suggestions: You should be required to have sixteen to twenty hours of training before you are allowed to buy a handgun and a minimum of twenty-four hours of specific additional training, at least half of it spent with a professional on the range, before you are allowed to receive a concealed weapons permit. If you still want to carry your gun into a classroom, more training and professional certification should be required.

If I were king, I'd also require anyone with a family who wants to purchase a handgun be required to show that family members, even the little kids, have had at least enough professional training to keep them away from the weapons.

And, again if I were king, I would encourage everyone to at least know how to safely handle all sorts of firearms, even if they had no interest in shooting them.

For safety's sake. Just in case.

How To Get Into Trouble With Just Two Blogs/ Part One

It's one of the hottest of the hot-button issues and my feelings on it have changed several times over the years. Now, with Chicago/Oak Park's handgun ban affirmed by the Court of Appeals and headed to the Supreme Court, I figure I'll spell out my position and see how many friends take shots at me.

Figuratively only, I hope.

I've had literally hundreds of hours of training over the years but recently went back and took a basic course just for safety purposes. I think about safety every time I pick up a handgun, even if it's handed to me, empty, by a store clerk. A gun store clerk, in fact, pointed a gun I knew to be empty at me the other day and I pushed the barrel away and took the gun from him.

I think handguns should be available to anyone who wishes to own one as long as they follow the law, take basic safety precautions and have the appropriate training. The latter point is where the NRA and some of my gun-toting friends and I disagree.

The basic class I took last month was taught on two consecutive Saturdays for a total of sixteen hours, including well-supervised range time. The topics of concealed-carry and defensive shooting were not even mentioned. Those are left for other, longer, classes.

In my opinion, sixteen to twenty hours of safety-based training should be the minimum required to purchase a handgun in Illinois. Recent police, security or military experience can be taken into account but the buyer should be able to produce proof of that training.

"But I been shootin' since I was knee-high to a basset hound!" some will protest.
That's great. The gun store clerk who pointed the gun at me claimed the same thing. So have a handful of my friends who I've taken to the range. Not one of them could recite the three basic rules of handgun safety. Only a couple handled the weapon I handed them in a safe manner.

Training should be mandatory. And if you want to carry a handgun concealed, more training should be required. I'll talk about the pros and cons of concealed carry as I see them, in tomorrow's blog.

Murdering to Prevent Murder: Say What?

A man with ties to a paramilitary group shot and killed an abortion provider in Wichita Kansas today. Dr. George Tiller was acting as an usher for a service underway at his church when he was gunned down. The alledged killer fled but police say he was apprehended a short time later, apparently driving to his home in the Kansas City area. They believe he acted alone but there are indications he had connections with the Posse Comitatus and the Freemen, both right wing paramilitary groups*, and reportedly posted comments on an anti-abortion blog site.

Dr. Tiller was a focal point of the national abortion issue. He was shot through both arms by a protestor several years ago. The woman who shot him is in prison.

I met and interviewed Dr. Tiller after his clinic was bombed in the mid-80's; he was speaking in Kansas City. I ran into him just as he was leaving the venue and he was gracious as I fumbled with my equipment, trying to get ready. The actual Q and A is a blur, but I recall he struck me as caring deeply about his patients their health, and their right to choose. The kind of doc I would want to have in a crisis.

People on both sides of the debate have decried today's killing but I can't help but believe that many on the side of, ironically, the Right to Life movement are gleeful about Tiller's death. In fact, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal, some didn't bother to hide their pleasure.

"At the same time expressions of sympathy poured forth in Wichita, opponents of abortion drove past the clinic cheering and honking horns in celebration of Tiller’s demise."

Tiller was one of few physicians in the country willing to perform late-term abortions...or the murder of human beings... depending which argument you choose.

No matter what his beliefs or actions, his murder is repulsive. The fact he was shot down in a house of God, a place of peace where where families with children could also have been hurt, is depraved.

News stories have mentioned that Tiller's bodyguard was not with him at the time of the attack. I'm willing to bet that's because Tiller believed he would be safe in a place of worship.

If that's the case, he was tragically wrong.

*Monday Update: The suspect, 51 year old Scott Roeder of Merriam Kansas, was arrested in 1996 near Topeka for driving a car with a license plate "issued" by the Freemen, a group that believes they have immunity from paying taxes. Police found explosives in his car. He was charged with possession of explosive devices but the case was later dismissed on grounds of an illegal search. A number of people on both sides of the abortion issue knew or knew of Roeder, and several of those people have been quoted as saying they felt he was dangerous.
According to reporters I spoke to this morning who are covering the story, there are indications the County Attorney in Wichita may be considering recusing herself from the case and asking federal authorities to step in and prosecute Roeder under hate crime statutes.

The Unreality of Reality TV

Until recently, I thought the show "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" was a popular Saturday morning cartoon. Guess not. More of a caricature of modern life.

From reading the cover of People and short blurbs in the Tribune and Sun-Times, my take-away is that the show is about two morons who produced eight offspring and basically now act hatefully toward each other while they daily force their children to put up with pandemonium and chaos for (as various reports have it) 50 to 75 thousand dollars per episode.

Let's see a show of hands...how many of you think this show is really for real? I sure don't. Then again, I never believed a single moment of Survivor or Amazing Race or Fear Factor or even Maury or Jerry. And we all know about the WWF (wink wink).

No, Kate and Jon aren't professional actors, nor are their kids. But don't think for a moment they don't have professional producers, wise in the ways of television and ratings, egging them on and demanding the performances that will win big advertiser dollars. What better to end one season and start another than a huge cheating scandal blown up by the tabloids? Why not sow conflict and hatred to make the big bucks?

Come on, folks. This is domestic life's version of pro-wrestling. These people are being paid to explode their family and destroy their kids' futures just as the guests on Jerry and Maury are paid to showcase their depravity and ignorance.

And you're buying every minute of it, aren't you?

Frankly, I don't care what happens to Jon and Kate. But somebody should get a childrens' advocate into that house/studio and remove those kids before they are scarred for life by two parents who have been seduced by the network's flim-flammers and blinded by the bright lights of unreality.

Should Michael Vick Play Again in the NFL?

Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about the mistreatment of animals.

Animal abuse sends me into a white hot fury. I believe pet owners who beat or terrorize their dogs and cats should have the same pain inflicted on them ten-fold. And I regard those who condone or allow dogfighting as some of the most vile and cretinous creatures on the planet, right up there on the should-be-burned-in-a-gasoline-filled pit with child rapists.

That said, the Michael Vick debate gives me pause. The guy will have served his time come July. Should he be allowed to rejoin the NFL, if a team will have him?

First let me say this. Who am I kidding? The man is regarded as a world-class player. Of course team owners, concerned only with the bottom-line benefit to their franchise, will scramble over one another to make him offers. It will be up to the NFL Commissioner to decide whether to allow him back.

The Commissioner and those team owners aren't evil people. They may even have pets of their own. But I would imagine none of them will consider the pain and suffering Vick caused when they make up their minds about his return to duty. That he's a convicted felon may weigh on their minds momentarily but, in point of fact, they'll know a good spinmeister can make that seem irrelevant. A little picketing, a miniscule amount of lost revenue the first year. So what?

The guy served his time, the argument goes. Shouldn't he be allowed back into his profession? After all, the NFL is hardly filled with saints.

I see one small sticking point.

Dogfighting occurs only so gamblers can make money.

Mr. Commissioner, do you want someone with those kinds of connections on one of your teams?

Movie Review: Star Trek

I've never been a Trekker. Watched a few episodes when the series was on and enjoyed them. Caught a few of the movies and enjoyed them, too, although I think they kept Shatner and crew way past their prime. I went to the new Star Trek with no expectations at all, just curious about what J.J. Abrams would do to the franchise.

It was terrific. So terrific I went Saturday to a dinner theatre (the food sucked and sitting in an office swivel chair is a lousy way to watch a movie), then went back last night and saw it in Imax format (exciting...but again, the seats sucked).

The casting is marvelous. Each of the young actors chosen for the leads, Kirk(Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and "Bones" McCoy(Karl Urban) and even Scotty(Simon Pegg), obviously studied the mannerisms of their forebears and learned the subtleties of words and gestures that channeled the original crew. The way Kirk sat in his chair, the emphasis on bits of McCoy's dialogue (who can forget his "Good God man!"), the two-shots of Kirk and Spock when they beam into the enemy ship and Scotty's over-the-top excitement all brought a thrill. The appearance of Leonard Nimoy made sense, too, without pandering to the audience.

Yes, the plot has mammoth holes in it but none stopped the action for me. This is a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously and makes use of a clever time-warp idea to explain veering from the original Star Trek concept. The camera angles and colors used in showing off the bridge give it a roomy, comfortable feel and the camera work in general plays down the fact that every significant scene is interior or quick exteriors (with the exception of a great close quarters battle sequence outside on a drilling platform).

If I had one significant objection, it was to the soundtrack. There's no way to outdo Jerry Goldsmith's original theme, which is used for closing credits, but I think the composer blew an opportunity to create an outstanding new score. The music is banal and uninteresting at best, which doesn't do justice to the excitement of what, I hope, will be a new series of Star Trek films.

Mother's Day leaves me thinking of Drew Peterson, accused slayer of one mother and suspected in the disappearance of another. In fact, had he not been hauled off to jail this week, he'd still be wooing a third one, a lost, lovestruck girl who seems not to care that two of his previous wives didn't fare very well.

A couple of things occurred to me as I watched the media coverage of his arrest. One is whether the Will County State's Attorney really has the evidence he needs to prosecute Peterson for the murder of his third wife. A good lawyer, after all, can pursuade a Grand Jury to indict a ham sandwich. Winning a conviction is considerably harder. If political expediency and not facts led to Peterson's arrest this week, it's going to be a really short, embarrassing trial for James Glasgow.

Peterson brought an almost Jimmy Cagney-esque flavor to his first court appearance. While he didn't quite dance into the courthouse, he jested with reporters and grinned for photographers in the manner of a guy with a get out of jail card taped to his buttocks.

I wonder, though. Behind that charming facade, that arrogant grin, what goes on in his head when he's alone in his cell?

Is he bluff and hearty or is there the tiniest spark of fear? Of panic?

His attorney won't be available until May 18th, leaving him to enjoy the county's hospitality until then. If Peterson is the psychopath many claim him to be, I'd be damned uncomfortable being that lawyer.

The sick part of my enjoyment of Mother's Day this year comes from thinking about Peterson sitting on his bunk, furious. Frustrated. And worried, if only a little bit, if this is all just a prelude to the way he'll spend the rest of his life.

Happy Mother's Day Drew. And, hopefully, many more just like this one for you.

What Are We Doing To Ourselves?

I expected a surge in crime as the stock market tumbled.

I figured we would see marked increases in armed robberies, drugstore stickups and the like. Basically crimes of opportunity where the motive was money.

I sure didn't expect a rash of mass murder/suicides such as we've seen throughout March. Locally there's the guy who killed his wife and step-son in the parsonage of a Wilmette church and then shot himself. Over this last weekend, a man went on a killing spree at a North Carolina nursing home and, just this morning, I read of a mass murder/suicide in California.

What's up with that?

Used to be, someone wanted to kill themselves, they did it. What have we become as a nation when suicidal individuals decide to, not only off themselves, but take a whole crew of people with them? Often people they don't even know? What's happened to our culture?

I'm not going to try and armchair shrink an answer. That one I'll leave for the professionals.

Where I will inject an opinion is in the case of another mass murder, one of the most diabolical and evil cases I can recall. It happened in Los Angeles in 1969 when a guy named Charles Manson and his followers broke into Hollywood producer Roman Polanski's home and murdered his pregnant wife and six others.

The CNN website today has an article entitled "Aging Manson 'Family' Members Long for Freedom."

These are four people who held down an eight-months pregnant woman and stabbed her in the stomach until she and her baby died. Yeah, I imagine they 'long' for freedom.

Good luck with that.

They are described as "model prisoners."

Used car dealers throw around the phrase "excellent condition," too. And just as long as we leave those cars parked on the lot, they'll remain in "excellent condition," won't they?

Some inmates deserve parole and a second chance. Even some who have committed murder.

No matter how old or sick they are, no matter how well they have behaved in the regimented society of a prison population, the Manson 'Family' members should never be freed.

May God have mercy on their souls.

Fourteen-Year-Old Sex-Offenders

I think what officials in Passiac County New Jersey are trying to do to a fourteen-year-old-girl is criminally cruel and a monstrous misuse of the criminal justice system.

I'm speaking of the teenager who took thirty nude pictures of herself and posted them for her boyfriend to see on MySpace. (You know MySpace. It and Craigslist have sort of an informal competition going to see who can get the most publicity for maintaining a site where people can act outrageously and get national attention, thus allowing the owners of the sites to boost advertising revenue.)

The New Jersey authorities have charged this girl with posession and distribution of child pornography.

Say what?

She posted pictures of herself. She is a minor. Therefore, they argue, she is no different than any other sexual predator and should be treated the same. If found guilty, she should have to register as a sex offender.

One of the talking heads on CNN, who has five children, shrieks that, "We have to protect these kids from themselves!"

I'm not going to go on and on about this but let me just say to her and anyone else who supports this kind of prosecution; balderdash!

These are kids being kids. We give them cell phone and computer video cameras and, gosh, whaddya think? Some of them are going to act out. Surprise!! We don't put them into the system for it; we take away their toys, send them to their rooms and ground them for six months.

Megan's Law, which is what everyone is citing here, requires registration of sex offenders. This kid, and others who send each other nude pictures, are not sex offenders. They are kids who screwed up. They're still allowed to do that.

They shouldn't have to face a judge. They should have to face a very angry and embarrassed Mom and Dad.

Give It Back, AIG, Give It Back!!

President Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, DC

Dear President Obama,

How easy is it to get money back you've lost?

If the person who finds it is an especially Good Samaritan, chances are pretty good. We all love those stories about the found wallets, bags of cash, whatever.

In the case of the AIG bonuses, I don't think it's going to be quite as easy as you and all the politicians who are making promises think it will be. Sure, you can levy special taxes but let's not forget one important fact.

The folks who got those hefty checks are going to be just as fervent about keeping the cash as we are about retrieving it. And by now, they've had plenty of warning that you're pissed and may try to reach into their pockets.

Wouldn't it be better if those bonus-takers just decided to return the money out of the goodness of their hearts? Here are several pursuasive strategies for achieving that mindset:

--Bring them to the White House and ask them to "give it up" for the good of the country. Better yet, invite the networks to watch you shame them. Make sure there's plenty of b-roll of starving children, people losing their homes and other sorrowful scenes to run while you're chatting with them.
--Promise IRS audits for the past five or ten years and for the rest of the individual's life until the money is returned.
--Send building inspectors crawling all over their homes and businesses (I'm sure your buddy Mayor Daley could spare a few of his toughest inspectors. Give them each a fifth of Scotch and they'll be happy to help.).
--Have Immigration carefully scrutinize their domestic help.
--Scrutinize every single one of their financial transactions ("Excuse me, Mr. Car Dealer, I'm with the IRS...are you sure you want to sell a Maserati to that man?").
--Search their children's school lockers on a regular basis and insist on jail time for any contraband (if you wish, sell the guns and drugs you find and use the money to pay down the debt).
--Install GPS trackers on all their cars and follow them intermittently. Never know when and where they might be spending their ill-gotten swag.
--And finally, my favorite, the coup de gras: Flag their passports and require rectal exams every time they leave and return to the country.

Hope these suggestions help.

Good luck with the puppy!

Doug

On Murder and 20/20 Hindsight

Several people took me to task for yesterday's post about the double murder/suicide in Wilmette, just as they did awhile back when I made the assertion that crime victims often ignore warning signs of danger, particularly when they occur in relationships.

Richard Wiley was an ex-con who murdered his first wife by stabbing her almost two dozen times. He was convicted, served fifteen years of a thirty year sentence, and was released in 2000. The man who prosecuted him is quoted as saying Wiley,"gave me chills."

Eight months after his release, Kathryn Motes married him.

Over the weekend, the couple reportedly argued. Then, police say, Wiley shot her and her teenage son, spent the night writing a suicide note, then killed himself.

Motes knew Wiley killed his first wife. So did her pastor and the people in her church. The pastor who married them tells the Tribune she even had misgivings about marrying the two but that Motes assured her she had considered all the scenarios and could, "deal with it."

And some of you think there weren't warning signs in this relationship? C'mon! The man got angry and stabbed wife number one twenty-three times! Some relationships have subtle hints of problems to come. This one flashed, "DANGER AHEAD" in big red letters from the first day they met. Undoubtedly there were other, more subtle, warnings that went unheeded over the past eight years, too.

Yet, as one friend noted to me yesterday, "People see what they want to see." And no one wants to see evil when they look into the eyes of someone they love.

My final thoughts on the subject? God Bless Kathryn Motes for loving Richard Wiley despite his history. God Bless the members of their church for accepting him and supporting her. I wish it had all turned out differently for them and her son. May God rest their souls.

"Thus," as I am fond of quoting Sean Connery in The Untouchables, "endeth the lesson."

Oh, but not really. A little postscript.

Recently a young mother in the Chicago area moved in with an ex-cop with a history of checkered relationships. You know the one I mean. One ex-wife dead in their bathtub? The other one missing? His grinning face all over the news on a regular basis? That guy.

Another pretty obvious case of warning bells clanging loudly, right? Personally, I think she'll go missing someday, too. Just because he wants the thrill of doing it right under the noses of people who are watching and waiting for it to happen.

I'm more worried about the silent domestic alarms, however. The ones going off, maybe in a relationship in your community. Maybe even between people you know and care about.

Perhaps nasty words have given way to shouting. Making threats. Or grabbing an arm and twisting it. Or giving a shove. Maybe a punch. Maybe one of the kids has an unexplainable bruise. Or someone has a black eye from "running into a door." Or someone fell down a flight of stairs.

Accidents, pure and simple? Or warning signs of domestic abuse?
What does your intuition tell you?

What are you going to do about it?

An All Too Common Tragedy

A double murder-suicide in Wilmette yesterday.

It's a tragic story, made even more so by the fact the shooter had committed a previous murder. He was convicted and served fifteen years for killing his first wife back in the late 80's. According to the Tribune, in fact, he stabbed her almost two dozen times. The former states attorney who prosecuted him is quoted as saying the guy, "gave me chills."

Contrast that with the impression this guy gave the pastor of his church who described him as a "friendly man with a good sense of humor" who the church family, "welcomed and loved."

That's what chills me the most. And something tells me the members of the church are feeling that chill even more so as they remember and mourn this family.

I blogged awhile back about how crime victims often ignore warning signs of danger and violence, especially in domestic situations. In this case, I strongly suspect those warning signs were evident not only to the wife and her son, but to others.

In fact, the couple's pastor is quoted in the Tribune as saying she asked the wife several times over the years if she felt safe living with him. The pastor would not divulge why she asked. I'm going to guess she sensed trouble but probably could not pursuade the wife to take decisive action. There were no police reports of previous contact with the family.

Crimes like this do not occur without plenty of history behind them. Plenty of opportunities for the victim, their loved ones and their friends to sense something is wrong, perhaps dangerously so.

Problem is, we don't want to believe the evil we sense in someone we like. We certainly don't want to acknowledge it in someone we love. And society tells us to keep our mouths shut when it comes to offering advice based on our intuition about a friend's relationship. Even a close friend.

I'm not casting blame. One thing I learned as a cop and then as a journalist covering crime is that it's nearly impossible to pursuade a victim of abuse to leave their abuser if they're not ready to go.

But there are avenues of escape, beginning with professional counselors, even the police and womens' shelters when circumstances warrant.

Pay attention to your intuition. Encourage your friends to pay attention to theirs as well.

A little paranoia never hurt anyone.

Entitlement Solution

Reading in the Chicago Tribune this morning about a group of Winnetka kids who basically moved into an unoccupied home, used it as a party house and did some damage. About ten grand worth, according to the owner's attorney.

Right after that was an article about seniors at Deerfield High School hazing freshmen (although parents of the seniors deny it happened). All of this comes on the heels of what I wrote about yesterday...the teenage Deerfield girl who went missing over last weekend, prompting some 2 thousand people to look for her...only to turn up the next night and have her parents withhold the information about where she had been and what she was doing.

Entitlement amongst the rich is not a new issue on the North Shore where I live. Most of the time we just shrug it off. Ever since two Deerfield High School students died in a rollover crash after an alcohol soaked homecoming party a couple of years ago, I don't shrug.

I get angry.

That party became news because the parents of the teens who held it claimed they had no idea alcohol was being served. A judge believed differently. Ironically, during the trial, one of the teen girls who testified against the parents was arrested the night she gave her testimony for being drunk/high at another party.

The stories go on and on. And parents keep denying their children have done anything wrong. After all, why should children be taught to to accept responsibility for their actions? Parents don't have time for such nonsense nowadays. They have parties of their own to attend. After all, as a besotted dad bragged to me at the scene of a DUI crash that killed one of his son's classmates, "I pay taxes so teachers and cops can deal with my little creep."

I've come up with a solution to the entitlement problem and I'm inviting any legislator who believes they have the required cojones to help me enact it into law.

We'll call it the Teenage Entitlement Act of 2009.

My proposal provides that any young person convicted of crimes based in feelings of entitlement (ie: feeling they have the absolute right to do whatever they wish and acting on it by trashing a house, stealing, drinking and driving, disappearing for 24 hours and prompting an areawide search, causing pain and suffering to others in any fashion just because their parents never taught them how to behave like adults) would face a specific punishment, to wit: (a) required enlistment in any branch of the armed services they choose with (b) mandated immediate deployment to a combat role in a war zone. The law would also provide that, for every teen convicted and deployed, a soldier/sailor/marine/Coastie/airman already serving in the conflict would be allowed to come home.

Obviously this would deal with the problem on two levels.

Children would rapidly learn not only to accept responsibility for their actions but to take responsibility for the lives of their peers. And parents who have never really given a crap about how they raise their children would learn (hopefully) to worry about their kids for once. Really worry.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Because parents would not be permitted to use their clout to get an easier posting for their kid, we'd probably lose a few scions of wealthy families. But hey, wouldn't it be better that they die as heroes in war, perhaps while acting selflessly to save their comrades, (think Medal of Honor...) rather than be known for eternity as the dumbass drunk driver who managed to kill themselves and some innocents on the highway? Or as "that dumb freshman who drank himself to death at a frat party?"

Want to end entitlement in our lifetimes? Write your lawmakers. Let's get this bill drawn and passed.

Of The President, Roland, and A Missing Girl

I had two comments to write on my Facebook page during the President's speech last night. One was that I was listening to him and, I said, "feeling hopeful."
The man has vision and some of the toughest problems to solve that any President has ever faced. I think he can make inroads if we, and Congress, work with him. That's my two cents. Disagree if you like but please, pray that nothing happens to him. If it does, we're in a world of hurt.

The other comment was that Nancy Pelosi would make a marvelous bobble head(tm if required).

I felt a little sorry for Uncle Roland, though, the man John Kass in the Tribune refers to as Senator Tombstone. CNN had two shots with him in the background as the President passed by last night. Temporary Senator Burris wore this odd little smile which reminded me of a new kid in the neighborhood wistfully watching the other kids play, knowing they will never let him be part of their group. It's ironic because many of them are probably looking over their shoulders at potential indictments just as he is. The only difference is, we know what he's done. The other senators' secrets are a little more hidden. At least for now.

Speaking of hidden secrets, how about the Deerfield girl who went missing for all of 30 hours or so last weekend.? What's going on behind closed doors there, eh? Rumor has it that within minutes of their little girl showing up, daddy and mommy told the cops, "She's fine, there was no crime, don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out."

I won't speculate on what happened, but I am willing to bet that the cops never had the full cooperation of her family or her friends.

The North Shore, despite appearances to the contrary, is a tough place to grow up.

Rods and Ends

Thanks to L.A. Wilson for the review of Every Secret Crime on Books are Pretty earlier this month.

And speaking of other bloggers, if you have ever wondered if you could marry a serial killer, Katherine Ramsland, PhD. discusses some who did on Lee Loffland's wonderful and incisive blog, The Graveyard Shift.

Speaking of marrying a serial killer, it's interesting to note that our local publicity-mongering ex police sergeant with one spouse technically missing, and another dead-in-the-bathtub, is on the matrimonial trail once more. After some confused denials, the happy couple recently officially announced their intent to betroth. Or he did. During an interview on Nightline.

That guy, I tell ya, is a publicity machine. Impressed at the job his flacks are doing for him, former governor Blago apparently used the same firm to arrange his whirlwind, last gasp media blitz last week. There's irony for ya.

Oh, that's right. News of the day is that we have a new governor and that the old one is finally and officially toast. I have to say Blago's final days were like watching the Extended Version of the famous O.J. Simpson pursuit. Having covered the state capi-tool back in my graduate school days, I was pleased to note that our new generation of state senators are just as windy as their predecessors. But when backed into a corner by the world media and public opinion, damn if they don't wield a heavy voting hammer. What courage it must have taken to come up with that unanimous vote.

My final take on the Blago Bust and followup?

The arrest and subsequent impeachment and ousting of our governor and all of the associated fallout could have been a wake-up call, not only to all elected officials but to all Illinoisans.

Unfortunately, most everyone will just hit the snooze button and go back to sleaze.

On Message but Off The Point

It was a fascinating day of TV watching yesterday.

As in the old days of rock radio, it was, "All Blago, all the time!" as our Governor, aided by his public relations firm, made the rounds of the New York based television shows to proclaim his innocence and castigate the Illinois senators who have ripped away his rights so they can railroad him out of office, essentially for being a man of the people.

Preposterous allegations, of course, but Blago stayed with the message, resisting all attempts to get him to waver.

The attempts were pretty lackluster.

Barbara Walters, for all her vaunted skill as an interviewer, stumbled over her questions like I did in my first month as a TV intern. The women of The View proved, as always, a bunch of nitwits with Whoopi leading the pack, questioning why the Illinois Senate is taking away Blago's rights (an argument sort of echoed by Geraldo Rivera on Fox awhile later as he and Whoopi cooed and hugged). Neither of them have apparently read the rules of the impeachment trial. But then again, why let facts mess up some perfectly good posturing?

And Larry King let Blago get away with claiming that Supreme Court rules bar him from speaking out about the allegations against him. Huh? The rules of good sense, maybe, but the Supreme Court has nothing to do with it. As a lawyer and former prosecutor, Blago knows someone accused of a crime can say anything they wish. I wish he'd tried that "Supreme Court" argument on Nancy Grace.

A caller came up with the best question of the evening on Larry King. She asked Blago if his media tour is an attempt to influence a future jury pool.

What I haven't heard anyone say about Blago's media blitz is this:

He's a megalomaniac. He loves and courts attention. While his lawyer (who quit, probably in disgust) Ed Genson told him to keep his trap shut, Blago wanted to make his last gasp as Governor the best it could be. He'll be busted down to private citizen by Friday but, by golly, he's having a ball getting his face in front of a national audience first.

Unfortunately for you, Governor, the nation's TV viewers have a miniscule attention span.

Fortunately for us, the people who are prosecuting you do not.

Finally, Some Good News

An amazing story is unfolding in New York right now.

155 people are alive because of a series of...what to call them? Perfect coincidences?

Nope. It's nothing short of a miracle.

A pilot and crew who knew exactly what to do.

A passenger sitting on the emergency aisle who reacted properly and instantly and popped open an emergency door.

Ferries operating in the area of the crash which have bows low enough to allow them to take passengers directly off the wings rather than requiring them to enter 20-40 degree water.

A miracle.

Bird strikes are a significant problem at O'Hare as well. And can you imagine what would have happened if a pilot had to drop an airliner into Lake Michigan...where the only emergency watercraft available to respond are fireboats...and, only if it happened at the right time of day, perhaps a dinner cruise boat or two?

A miracle it happened where it did, when it did and that the pilot and others reacted as they did.

A bright spot in an otherwise gray winter.

Impeached...And He Keeps on Running

Great photo from the Chicago Tribune of a guy who just doesn't get it.

While the subject of their work was out for a jog today, the Illinois House, on a vote of 114 to 1 (now there's a loyal friend...maybe he figures he can be a U.S. Senator, too) impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Yet, Blago held a news conference in response within hours, coming out fighting behind a guy in a wheelchair and some other recipients of his gubernatorial largesse to pound away at how much he has done for the state and how his power struggle with the House is the only reason representatives voted the way they did.

Instead of focusing on the impeachment which, with any luck, will force him from politics forever, he sounded like a guy getting ready to run for a third term. He ended by reciting a poem. He's a big fan of poetry.

One of the things I've read about sociopaths is how much joy they take from watching their victims' pain. They revel in it. They get a kick out of tweaking authorities and the media and showing off their intelligence. Like reading a little rhyme to the unwashed masses.

Speaking of reading, I was fascinated to read a memo sent to the impeachment committee by my friend and former cop reporter Bob Arya. Bob left journalism to work for Blago. He quit state government in October.

It's not in iambic pentameter but it deals with such things as how the governor shunned his office in Springfield, not for his office in Chicago, but in favor of working from home.

"The Governor's chosen method of communicating with most senior staff on virtually all matters was via speakerphone from his home," Arya writes, adding that Blago's language cited in the federal complaints, including regular use of the F-word, was commonplace when he dealt with his staff.

Arya goes on to detail how Blagojevich failed to hold regular cabinet meetings, used the state plane with no consideration of the cost, detested Lt. Governor Pat Quinn and refused to work with him, refused to entertain diplomats from other countries "unless it (served) one of his political goals" and made it clear that one of those goals after the beginning of his second term was to put himself into position to run for President. Another was to do all he could to destroy Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan.

Madigan's still standing. He announced the results of the impeachment vote today.

But back to Bob Arya's memo. Basically he told the committee, "I was witness to a host of matters and behaviors which were not only alarming but clearly convinced me that the Governor was incapable and/or unwilling to perform the duties of Governor...".

Fascinating.

Bob is an honorable guy and I respect his toughness. I have no doubt he tried to point out to the Governor and others that they were heading the state in a wrong direction.

Nobody paid attention.

Blago's still laughing at us.

Since he enjoys poetry so much I've composed a little verse in his honor. Maybe he'll read it after his next news conference.

Roses are Red. Violets are Blue. George Ryan's in the joint. Soon Blago will be too.

Doobie doobie doo.