Every Secret Crime

Political Boobs Cut off Breast Exams for Planned Parenthood Women

2012-02-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has shown this week it's more concerned about bowing to pressure from Republican money-sources than preventing disease.

Helmed now by a staunch abortion foe, Komen this week announced it is cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood, a pro-choice group that performs abortions in some of its clinics: just one of the many health services it offers to women wjo might not otherwise be able to afford them.

Komen claims it's because Congress has launched an investigation of how Planned Parenthood spends its money. Planned Parenthood and other organizations call the probe a "sham."

Also this week, an Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker was kicked out of an environmental committee hearing in Washington and arrested. The Republican chair of the committee cited a seldom-used credentialing rule to instigate the arrest by Capitol police.

And, finally, the American Family Association has launched a campaign against J.C. Penney. The department store chain just hired Ellen Degeneres as a spokesperson. The American Family Association says she is not representative of the women who shop there.

I'm not a declared Republican or Democrat but power plays offend me, especially when a political party uses its clout in a way that could seriously endanger lives. Or manipulates the law to silence those who disagree with its principles and proposed laws. Or tries to silence a popular TV host because of her sexual orientation.

We can expect much more of this if we elect one of them as our President.

Animals

2012-01-18T08:57:00.000-08:00

Bullying. Not a fond memory from childhood but brought back viscerally by the internet video of a Chicago teenager being beaten that was captured on video this week and posted to YouTube.

The victim was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital. His attackers have been arrested. One of them, who evidently aspires to a Hollywood career, allowed the camera to capture his face and is 17. He has been charged as an adult. I suspect that may have come as a surprise to his young self. I hope he got an inside view of Cook County jail, if only for a fleeting moment.

Prediction: The parents of these animals will hire good lawyers, the criminal justice system will slap their hands, and they will be allowed to continue in school with merely a reprimand of some kind on their records. That reprimand will not follow them into college, if any of these brainiacs actually make it there.

My suggestion of punishment: mandatory military service for all of them as soon as they are of age, with a posting to the most dangerous war zone available at that time. Fortunately, we'll likely have a few to choose from in the next few years.

End of story.

"And it came to pass . . ."

2011-12-24T13:36:00.000-08:00

It's been an odd Christmas season.

It began when my pal, Linda's, parents died within ten days of each other after Thanksgiving. You can say they were old, at 85, and sick, which they were, and raring to go Home to Jesus, which is also true. But, darn it, I miss them. Christmas won't be the same without their quirky senses of humor and love of the season.

Then there have been the police officers killed this month. Three if I'm counting correctly. All protecting and serving when they were attacked. They all had children who will wake up Christmas morning without their fathers.

Add to that the embezzlement reported from the Toys for Tots fund in Chicago and the toys stolen from the Lutheran church up in Antioch. And the general state of the economy and the strangeness of the political season.

But then comes the story of the one-hundred fire trucks.

11-year-old Kyle McGetrick of Barnegat, New Jersey is dying of cancer. Within 24-hours this week, firefighters put together a convoy of nearly one-hundred fire vehicles which cruised past Kyle's house Wednesday night, sirens blaring and lights flashing...followed by a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, of course.

Kyle's dad, also a firefighter, is quoted in the local Barnegat Ocean-Patch:
“I don’t know how they orchestrated it all,” Gene McGetrick said. His son has been spending most of his time in bed, exhausted from his fight against the disease he’s battled for more than half his life. “But he got himself up to go and wave to everybody. They made his night last night.”

And then, in Garnerville, New York, the Thiells Fire Department learned of a nine-year-old boy suffering from leukemia. They brought him a dog for Christmas.

From LoHud.com:

"When he saw two firetrucks arrive in front of his house one recent evening, 9-year-old Sean DePatto was worried that his house might be on fire.

Jason Trow, the fire department’s 2nd lieutenant, organized the surprise. He said he and his fellow firefighters wanted to cheer up Sean and his family.

“We’re trying to do something nice for the family. I know it’s really hard … especially during the holidays,” Trow said. “We are trying to make it a really good Christmas for them.”

Kim DePatto said the surprise visit put a big smile on Sean’s face."

All of which reminds us that, amidst the darkness and pain of this Christmas season, light shines clearly and brightly, just as it did for the shepherds in a long-ago time...

"...and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

May God's Grace bless and keep you this holiday season and in the new year.

((Watch the video here: http://firetruckblog.com/2011/12/23/fire-service-flash-mob-in-barnegat-new-jersey-puts-on-a-show-for-a-firefighters-young-son-in-his-final-days/))

Governor Brownback! Time to Grow a Pair!

2011-11-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Kansas Governor Sam Brownback,

You blew it, dude.

When Shawnee Mission East High School Senior Emma Sullivan tweeted a rude remark about you to her friends during a tour of the state capitol last week, one of your staffers snitched her off to her school. Good grief!

She claims her principal, Karl R. Krawitz, ordered that she write you an apology. Sullivan refused and the story went viral. Papers nationwide picked it up. Bloggers from Forbes to the Huffington Post castigated you for your harsh response.

Harsh? Come on! Kansas Republicans don't hide behind wimpy little school principals and their silly letters of apology, do they? They sure didn't when I lived there!

I say you lost a real chance to show that upstart high-schooler and all of her 6,000 sniveling Twitter friends just how a powerful Kansas Republican spells t-o-u-g-h.

You're Commander in Chief of the Kansas National Guard, aren't you? Within hours of learning of the offensive tweet, you could have had armed troops rappelling from helicopters into her yard.

You could have sent Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents to investigate the little rebel's family background and political leanings. Search their trash. Seize those damnable tweeterized cell phones.

Why, you could have had Kansas Highway Patrol Special Response Team troopers pepper spray her entire neighborhood!

Governor, let's be frank. You let an 18-year-old girl push you around! So what if she whined about "free speech?" You should be the one to determine who's allowed to speak freely. You're a REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR, for crying out loud.

Like Governor Walker in Wisconsin slammed the unions, you had a chance to hammer high-schoolers throughout Kansas into submission.

"Letter of apology?" Oh please.

Don't Insult John Wayne, Pilgrim

2011-11-14T06:36:00.000-08:00

A number of years ago, I spoke to a group of school officials, discussing how they might choose to react after a mass casualty event such as the Columbine shootings.

I suggested it would be wise to brief the media sooner, rather than later, before someone like Reverend Jesse Camera Hog has a chance to show up and start spinning his own version of events.

The reaction from some members of the audience was so snap-quick and harsh, you would have thought I advocated throwing acid in the man's face

I learned a valuable lesson that day. One that some critics of the tea-party, Herman Cain, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachman, and football coaches like Joe Paterno, have yet to figure out.

Don't you dare take the name of a conservative idol in vain.

As my old cop-partner Kenny P. used to say, "Call John Wayne a sissy? Why them's fightin' words!"

The ultra-conservatives, especially those who only read the headline-speak of their candidates, cling tight to idyllic, can-do-no-wrong beliefs about their heroes. So tight that, to cause any ripple in The Force, is cause for immediate retribution. Condescending remarks are usually the first volley.

"You don't understand. Herman Cain didn't abuse those women. You're so simple-minded! You're falling for the Democratic plot to undermine his campaign." Or, "Michele Bachman isn't ever wrong! She just goes off message sometimes..." Or the best one lately, "Joe Paterno did what the law said he had to do...report to his superiors. Nothing required him to call the cops. You're just like all the rest...beating up on an old man."

And then there's the fallback: "Herman didn't do anything Obama hasn't done."

Huh?

No facts. No reasoning. No logical argument. Not even an agreement to disagree.

Instant vilification.

Why is that, do you suppose?

Seems to me, if you're blind to someone's failings, maybe you really don't know enough about them. Which, in this age of politics-lite, seems to so often be the case.

Sometimes the Reaction Says It All

2011-11-13T08:37:00.001-08:00

Herman Cain has attacked the media for giving the sexual harrassment allegations story more legs than he feels it deserves. In a video bite last week, he ordered a staffer to send one reporter, who was persistently seeking his comment, a copy of the "journalistic code of ethics."

I'm not sure which "code" Cain wanted the reporter to follow but I looked up the one drawn by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). Yes, it calls for accuracy in reporting. Yes it calls for reporters to make every attempt to identify the sources of stories. It also states, "Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing."

Maybe Cain didn't read that part.

Cain, like many politicians of both parties, seems to feel he can dictate what's news and what isn't. That he can snuff the story because it makes him uncomfortable. To me, that's dictatorial, not Presidential.

In twenty-five years spent covering public officials, I found that the ones who rubuked or belittled me for asking questions usually had something to hide.

I think Herman Cain does, too.

**Full disclosure. One of Herman Cain's accusers, Sharon Bialek, worked at WGN Radio during the time I freelanced there. To the best of my knowledge, we never met.**

It's Hard to Imagine

2011-11-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

I pity Paterno.

No, not because they booted him.

Rather, I feel sorry that he didn't immediately walk off the field, his head down in shame, rather than announcing he'd stick around until the end of the season. Like what he did, or didn't do, twenty years ago was not really such a big deal. That maybe everything wouldn't look so bad if he could ring in another winning season.

And I feel sorry that, twenty years ago, he believed the reputation of his institution was worth more than the emotional well-being of a child. That he may still not comprehend the enormity of the thing he helped kick under the rug.

I wonder if he's ever had a sleepless night over it. I wonder if he's ever allowed himself to imagine the terror that ten-year-old boy felt in the Penn State locker room while he was alledgedly being assaulted by Joe's good friend. The hopelessness and despair and confusion that inevitably followed.

Or the fact that, by remaining silent, he may have allowed other tragedies to occur.

I wonder how Joe feels in the wake of the shameless behavior of the student rioters. They certainly do not exemplify the honor he tried to instill in his players.

Frankly, neither does he.

Football's emperor is without clothes.

And that's a shame, too.

Another Dandy Reason for the Death Penalty

2011-11-04T09:07:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago, a 14-year-old girl in the southwest suburbs was murdered by a guy she found burglarizing her family's home. The Cook County State's Attorney tells us that the suspect stole her cell phone and later used it to text "cruel" messages to her parents about killing the child.

Her death is horrific. The taunting by text suggests unspeakable evil.

For cases like these, and all of the rest that are just as incomprehensible but not as widely publicized, Illinois needs to reinstate the death penalty.

A death penalty that is written to allow a defendant constitutional legal recourse but limits the number of appeals and narrows them in scope. Not a death penalty that can be subverted by endless legal maneuvering but, rather, a death penalty with mandatory review by a panel made up of professional investigators tasked to evaluate all the evidence in the case, even that which is pertinent but not introduced at trial. And not a death penalty that would allow the convict to languish while on death row. Time awaiting punishment would be spent at hard labor or, at the very least, in a cell with no television or radio, no amusements or distractions of any kind. Four walls, a cot and three meals a day. Limited exercise periods.

I believe in capital punishment for two reasons. First, if publicized and implemented on a regular basis, without anger, in a humane and efficient fashion, it may become a deterrent to others contemplating unspeakable crimes. Note the phrase, "if publicized and implemented on a regular basis." One execution once in a great while won't get the message across.

Second, while deterrence cannot be measured, putting the individual to death assures he is no longer a threat. To anyone. Correctional officers while he is incarcerated and any innocents on the outside if the system, in what often passes for mercy but is, in truth, misguided wisdom, one day decides to release him.

Capital punishment is brutal. Many good and kind souls find it morally repugnant and not socially acceptable.

I find it fundamentally unacceptable that animals wearing the disguise of human beings wantonly destroy innocent lives and then face a "maximum" penalty that many of them find laughable.

Moammar Gadhafi is Still Dead

2011-10-21T08:13:00.001-07:00

As I watched the coverage of Gadhafi's murder/execution/accidental death by gunshot yesterday, I kept thinking of the old Saturday night live skit from the 80's where, among the top "news," came the breathless headline, "Francisco Franco is still dead!"

From the gruesome videos and video captures shown repeatedly on the networks, and that appeared this morning on the front page of Rupert Murdock's New York Post (proclaiming, "Khadafy Killed By Yanks Fan; He Had More Hits Than A-Rod"), I'd say there's no doubt Gadhafi is not only dead, but will remain so for the forseeable future. We have the pictorial evidence right in front of us.

A bullet to the head and, apparently, one to the gut, will do that.

Don't get me wrong. The guy had blood on his hands long before the mob dragged him out of that drainage tunnel. It's long believed he was responsible for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie Scotland in 1988 that killed 243 people, some of whom may have survived until impact (The Sun tabloid in Britain ran a headline today saying, "That's for Lockerbie"), that he supplied bombs to the separatists in Northern Ireland, killed Americans, and committed countless atrocities in his own country. I feel no sympathy for Moammar Gadhafi.

What I'm pondering is the clumsy and garishly public nature of his death. What have we gained, or lost?

Certainly, revenge is sweet for some and they have the right to savor it. Others have argued that the visual savagery of his slaying will propel Libyans on to democracy. Yet others believe the televised brutality will send the proverbial message to other bad guys, "This could happen to you, too."

Of course, for those looking forward to their 72 virgins, that last argument may not have much impact.

What about the rest of us?

What, especially, about the kids and young adults we teach to follow the rule of law? Those who undoubtedly got a clear message from yesterday's bloody endless loop of death, that "law" isn't sacrosanct? That shooting a guy you hate in the head is okay if you do it in front of a cheering crowd and it gets broadcast on CNN?

And does this mark the "end of an era of arbitrary rule," as some have claimed, or does it really just underscore the fact that power always comes down to who's better armed and quicker on the trigger when the moment presents itself?

Beats me.

All I know is, I turned off the TV once I saw Moammar Gadhafi was still dead.

Stuck in the Mud, Wheels Spinning, Life Out of Control

2011-10-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

If Chicago media critic Robert Feder has it right, Randy Michaels got stuck in the mud of a Ohio construction site last Sunday and, when the cops hauled him out, wound up busted for driving under the influence.

Michaels' mug shot topping Feder's blog makes him look like Otis, the bumbling drunk from the old Andy Griffith Show.

But I'm guessing Ben Homel, the person behind the Randy Michaels persona, isn't feeling like life is much of a sitcom.

Randy Michaels is the guy who ruined a classic radio station and gleefully gave its listeners, all of us really, his upraised middle finger while doing so. From the goofy gambling party in Colonel McCormick's historic office to an alleged tryst on the Tribune's outdoor patio, he broadcast to the world he was running the show his way and anybody who didn't like it could kiss his butt.

As I said at the time, Michaels smashed apart WGN like a kid destroying another kid's toys because he never had any of his own.

Ben Homel . . . I don't know about him.

I'm still trying to imagine how he felt when he woke up the morning after his arrest. Did he shrug it off, pop out of bed laughing, knowing he'd be reading disparaging comments about himself in the national press once again but looking forward to yet another moment in the spotlight regardless?

Or did he crawl from under the covers feeling ashamed and humiliated, one sick and sorry part of his heart realizing the life he always dreamed he'd have is just as out of reach as it's ever been?

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Behind every arrogant buffoon is a frightened child curled up in a ball, terrified of the monsters in his closet.

Amanda Knox: Victim or Perpetrator?

2011-10-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

With the decision that Amanda Knox go free, lots of folks are celebrating, not the least of whom are the U.S. officials who undoubtedly convinced their Italian counterparts...You're Embarrassing Yourselves...Get It Done, Now.

It's a given that the Italian authorities blew the forensics. And hey, if Amanda's blood wasn't on the knife, she shouldn't get life. Right?

So why do I have a queasy feeling that a murderer is poised to return to the party circuit and in a major way?

My opinion? Knox was complicit in Meredith Kercher's murder.

I think she'll be carefully managed in the short run. Perhaps a few tearful words when she makes it back to America, a little careful video of her making good on her wish to "lie down in a green field."

Within a week or two, however, she'll make the rounds of the talk shows. If she listens to her parents and media advisors, her appearances will be cautious and scripted. If she's on her own, I think an innate desire for attention will lead her to display her wild side.

Then, we'll hear about the book deal, maybe a recording contract. A TV movie, followed by a reality show. A little Dancing With the Stars action?

Hell, maybe she and Casey Anthony will move into a gated community together.

Sooner or later, it'll be back to the party circuit. And the sex, drugs and rock 'n roll rumors will start. Think Lindsay Lohan.

Of course, I'm a cynical SOB. Who knows? Maybe she'll disappear behind a screen of Public Relations firms and bodyguards and dutifully show up in church every Sunday.

It won't last. I think she got away with murder. I think, eventually, she'll flaunt that.

If we're lucky, maybe that's when the truth will come out.

Defending Sarah

2011-09-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong. I'm really not in Sarah Palin's corner. I just find it discouraging that author Joe McGinness and now, filmmaker Nick Broomfield, are taking such cheap hits at her. McGinniss particularly.

I know all about using un-named sources. I've certainly done it, generally to keep cops and firefighters from losing their jobs after giving me information I was entitled to get anyway. But McGinniss seems to take a special delight in dishing confidential source rumor, gossip and innuendo. His claim that he just "happened" to find a house directly next door to the Palin's but never looked over the fence . . . well, to this writer that just seems stalkerish.

Both men have gotten their scoops from talking to those who are on the outs with the Palins. Gee, you suppose they might have an axe to grind? You betcha. Joe and Nick, can I talk to the people in your lives you've screwed and see the crap they tell me about you?

Here's the bottom line. Sarah Palin is a phony. She mouths cheap phrases, quick lines that a lazy and, in many cases, under-intelligent public loves to hear. She chose to leave her job as governor to make gazillions on the speakers' circuit and on Fox and to be idolized by millions. She loves the attention. But she will never become more than that because she is having too much fun conning the people who love her so much.

So why bother to try and shake her, guys? You can't do it. And what you've produced in book and film is just trash.

And Now Back to the Manuscript

2011-08-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

I finished writing my third book yesterday. After a few changes this morning, I finally typed The End on the last page of the manuscript.

It's an awesome feeling, believe me. Almost three years of hard work.

Now, I'm waiting for the inevitable question that comes once I tell most non-writers that the book is complete.

"When can I buy a copy?" or "When will it come out?" or "Will it be on Kindle?"

Their thinking: Well, gee, the book is done...I mean...then it gets published, right?

For some authors, perhaps it's a foregone conclusion.

Here's the way it's going to work for me.

First, a significant amount of editing is necessary. I suspect a couple of weeks worth at least. My editor has already been through it once. We will go through it again together.

Next, I need to find a literary agent. The agent is the go-between . . . the person who will attempt to sell my work to a publisher. I'm fortunate that there are several agents who have expressed interest in seeing what I've written. Once I submit my manuscript to them, however, it could be anywhere from two weeks to, perhaps, six months before I hear back and there is no guarantee any of them will agree to represent me. If none are interested, the agent hunt begins again.

If I'm fortunate and find an agent willing to take me on, he or she will likely want me to make changes to the manuscript. Even then, there is no guarantee a publisher will agree to buy the book. If they do, lag time between acquisition and publication is at least a year, probably longer.

So the answer to the question, "When can I buy a copy?"

Beats the heck out of me.

Stay tuned.

Well, We Didn't Default But . . .

2011-08-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

Interest rates are going to skyrocket.

Who knows what will happen to the markets?

I'm wondering something. In ten to fifteen years, or more, will we find out that this was all a scam perpetrated by the conservative Republicans, to blow Obama from office?

After all, Congress isn't going to suffer when our economy dips. Sure, we'll vote some of the bastards out of office but we can't possibly get them all. And those who are defeated will just live off their guaranteed pensions and huge speaking fees. Deomcrats included.

So what if this was all carefully orchestrated to return the Republicans to power?

And...what if that's a good thing?

After all, how much real leadership have we gotten from the White House throughout this crisis? Zip. About all I heard him do was tell me to call/write my legislators.

Beginning to think we would have been better off electing a bowl of jello.

Of Debt Ceilings and Big Spending

2011-07-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

I'm not an economist. I'm not a politician.

But I am a cynical ex-reporter and this is how I think the debt ceiling/budget/spending debate is going to end.

There will be no deal by Tuesday.

We are going to default. I'm just about certain of it.

The Republicans, especially the tea party Republicans new in Congress this session, are willing to do whatever it takes to embarrass, read that "defeat," President Obama. Many of them aren't concerned about being re-elected. They are, essentially, political terrorists with one agenda. They aren't worried about a default which, by the way, could lead to an unprecedented financial crisis...potentially a new-age Depression. Why should they be?

Senators and Representatives make great salaries. They have terrific benefits that won't be affected by what happens to the rest of us.

No, it won't be a case of the stock market diving 500 points in one day and rebounding within weeks. The losses we will see may not be made up in our lifetime.

I don't lay it all on the Republicans. The President and the Democrats in Congress will do just about anything to avoid appearing politically weak. They don't want to accept any plan the Republicans put forth because it will look to the nation as though the Republicans have won. That would seriously undermine Obama's chances for re-election next year. Or so they believe. The President would prefer to see the nation in turmoil than to act as a strong leader, unconcerned about his own political future.

So Congress and the President are at stalemate. Congress is in the midst of a civil war. It is the ultimate in political brinksmanship.

This is the moment when our political leaders will either run and hide behind cheap rhetoric and let the country down, or work together as statesmen, ignoring their own selfish concerns to craft a plan that will work now and into the future.

At this time in our nation's history, I just don't think the powers-that-rule in Washington can put aside their internecine squabbles and compromise to serve the nation.

I hope, I pray, I am proven wrong.

Comcast Part Deaux

2011-07-02T15:18:00.001-07:00

The Internet is full of complaints about Comcast. Now they offer a "customer guarantee" but that's doing little to improve their reaction to calls for service.

Twice in the past month I have had techs to the house for the same problem. Previous post described the last visit. The first one was worse. The problem remains.

Each time, I'm treated to a litany of the same questions...suggesting that the problem is mine and not theirs. Each time I have described the problem precisely. Service interupts on a continuous basis all day...for two and three minutes at a time. In and out to the point I cannot stay online for more than five or ten minutes without an interruption.

Three years ago, I had the same issue until they moved me to a new "queue." And that, I recall, was done only reluctantly and only after months of service calls.

What's the problem with these people? I have been booted off line three times since signing on to write this post.

Does This Strike You As Familiar?

2011-06-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

From My Notes, Part 1:

Cable fellow just arrived. Couple of days beard growth, shirt out of pants, he looks like every mugshot of a pedophile you've ever seen. He enters (Socks did not hide. I think we're okay). "Where's the modem?" (sigh). I show him. (another sigh) He hooks up his Big Device. (sigh 2x). "I gotta look at the boxnthepole." Looks at box. (sigh) "Sonofa..." Goes to pole. Clumps back across yard. "Dere's some funny stuff goin' on dere in that box. Some splitters not spozed to be dere. I gotta....mumble...(sigh)." If he doesn't stop sighing, I'm getting him an oxygen bottle.

Part 2:

He briefly got lost in the shrubs just short of where he needed to go and tripped over one of the yard lights. Once at dapole, he slammed the ladder against it and I heard "Shit!" Now he's back at dabox. I wonder if he heard me a minute ago as I prepared to give my credit card to a vendor over the phone? I said,"Let me move away from the window. Sure don't want the cable guy having my credit card info!" I didn't hear a "shit" or a (sigh) so maybe I'm okay. Oh boy, here he comes with his helmet pushed back on his head looking really disgusted.

Part 3:

He just cut the cable from dabox to dapole. (sigh) Tried to reconnect.(sigh) Realized he had no slack. Dropped it. Looked at it. (sighhhhhhhh blown through his teeth). Helmet pushed back on his head, he's rolling out to datruck. We'll see if he has cable with him in sufficient amount to do the trick...

Part 4:

He returns with large spool of cable. Drops it on dapatio (sigh). Goes to dabox. Mumbles "mother____!" Walks back toward box, stepping in flowers, doing what looks like a dance step when he realizes where he is, disappears in bushes. Ladder slaps against dapole.

Part 5:

He's back on dapatio. (biggest sigh so far). Strips wire. Takes out electrical tape. Scratches self with it. Mutters something. Goes back to dabox. Focuses on dabox for about fifteen minutes. Clumps back to dapole. Strings new cable from dapole to dabox.

Part 6:

He's finished. I ask him how it went. "Well dere was a kinda mess in dere. Loose connections and this, I don't know what it was, bypass thing we're not supposed to use. I dunno why it's dere. I tightened...mumble...down to the D3 connector (sigh)...there's two lines...one not in use...I tied it off. The connections, dey were loose...mumble...up dapole. . . BUT IT WORKS GOOD NOW, HEY?"

Yeah, buddy, thanks.

Only problem is . . . after all that . . . I still have the same problem. (sigh)

Shameful Weather Coverage in Chicago

2011-06-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

One of the things I learned in nearly thirty years of covering news is that the general viewing and listening public is sometimes slow to react in the face of threatening weather, sometimes with tragic results.

That's not so much the case in "tornado alley" where weather warnings are commonplace and residents realize the value of staying alert to changing conditions. But I found it true regularly when I came to Chicago.

We had some bad weather in the Chicago area the other night. Three tornado funnels. Straight-line winds in excess of seventy-miles-per-hour. And an end result of more than a quarter of a million people without power.

The local television stations, one of which touts its multi-million dollar weather studio and committment to weather education, shamefully failed in their responsibility to warn the viewing public of the dangers of the approaching storm.

While The Weather Channel focused its coverage on Chicago for the time period the storm was approaching, the local stations dashed off a couple of quick messages. One station, I am told, offered visuals in the form of screen-crawls and radar but no more than minutes of advice or warnings from their meteorologists.

More than 100 people died in Joplin where, as I understand, they had very little advance warning of a terrifying storm.

In Chicago Tuesday night, by my estimate, the television stations had thirty-to-forty minutes to alert their viewers.

I recognize these stations have contractual agreements with advertisers and their networks. I also realize the stations must be sensitive to viewers in outlying areas who are not affected by storms approaching Chicago. There is also the argument that social media, smart-phones and computers all provide weather coverage.

But consider this, too.

If people had died in our storms, which excuse for television's shameful lack of coverage would have most comforted their family and friends?

Mixed Feelings About Concealed Carry in Wisconsin

2011-06-21T16:50:00.001-07:00

Wisconsin's State Assembly passed a concealed carry bill today and sent it to the governor who is expected to sign it into law.

I applaud what Wisconsin has done but take exception to the training requirements that have been reported in the media. Apparently the bill requires only classroom work, no actual range time. Bad idea.

But then, I haven't seen any state demanding real-world training for its permit holders.

Granted, many individuals who choose to carry concealed handguns already have significant experience with firearms. Unfortunately, that experience, while better than nothing, is often limited to shooting ranges at best and "plinkin' at cans' at worst. Too many people have told me they don't need or want to take even a basic class because they "know all about guns."

I was fortunate to have early police training, augmented by several advanced classes taught by the FBI. When I decided several years ago to take-up the handgun hobby again, I signed up for individual instruction in basic safety, and carrying and using a concealed weapon, as well as NRA- certified classes in everything from the basics to handgun self-defense in and out of the home. . . about 100-plus hours in all. In the next year, I hope to attend Masaad Ayoob's fine pistol training facility in Florida for more specialized classes.

Concealed carry is a deadly responsibility. It is not a game. It isn't something you do to impress your friends. States should require professional instruction and rigorous range testing before a permit is issued.

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Congress and Casting Stones

2011-06-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

So it looks like Congressman Weiner is out.

Reports in the New York Times and elsewhere say the pec-and-ab-displaying Democrat will resign after long discussions with his wife and amid threats that his colleagues planned to strip him of his committee assignments. Probably not the kind of stripping he's used to . . . but, I digress.

Yeah, he's a creep for playing around with other women while married and for the unpardonable sin of lying about it when the media came calling. Now he bows out in disgrace and goes to spend time in rehab or taking long walks on the beach. Can a nasty, but quiet, divorce be far behind?

Here's my take.

I wonder how many others in Congress are guilty of the same thing . . . or worse? Were any of those esteemed statesmen (and undoubtedly stateswomen) among the "colleagues" who urged him to quit? Of course they were!

I suspect more than a few of the finger-pointing media have their own sexual peccadillos to hide. Sure they have a job to do but, do they have the moral right to criticize anyone else? Just askin'.

Final question...what serious issues, what criminal acts, what real wrongs have gone uninvestigated and unreported while the media and pundits have been dancing all over Weiner's weiner?

Is it too much for a disgusted public to ask that we get back to the business of news sometime soon?

Federal Study States the Obvious

2011-06-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

Many of us who used to love journalism have known this for some time: with all the *new* sources of news provided by the Internet, the actual quality of reporting has diminished.

Now, the New York Times is highlighting a federal study that makes our cynical observations official.

Commissioned by the FCC, the study focuses specifically on the coverage of local and state government. It says that politicians gain power when the media is not around to question their actions and assertions...and fewer and fewer media organizations are doing so.

Reporters hold up a mirror so society can see how it is functioning.

Without that mirror, the arrogance of power goes unchecked and we all suffer.

Journalistic Ethics Redefined

2011-05-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

Many many years ago, before cable probably, there existed a rule in the journalism business: Impartiality is essential for credibility. It simply meant, you don't promote or publicly support the people or institutions that you may eventually have to cover.

For example, you don't say the mayor is the best ever in case the next day you have to call him an accused felon. Or something nasty like that.

Why, kids, I even remember a time when those of us in radio weren't even allowed to read commercial sponsorships at the beginning of newscasts. None of that, "And now the news,brought to you by Dumb and Dumber Chair Company."

Nowadays, though, there's a thing called "spin."

Having the ability to spin is almost as good as having "credibility." It means you can tell people you "didn't know" that something you did was unethical or that you are a moron. In many circles, that erases your misbehavior and everyone forgets about it forever. Simply put, you are no longer a moron.

So every so-called "journalist" who was edited out of the recent non-advertisement/tribute to outgoing Mayor Daley is now forgiven. They are no longer morons.

The ones who didn't avail themselves of the opportunity to spin their appearance in said commercial remain the twits and lightweights they always were.

They have discovered another important new rule of journalism: having no ethics means never having to say you're sorry.

Mayor Rahmbo: Ruthlessness Redefined

2011-04-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

Channel 5's political blog has this to say about Chicago's new Mayor:

“Foul mouthed, iron-fisted and arrogant. Say hello to Mayor Emanuel.”

Everything I’ve read, heard and seen about the guy suggests that assessment of the new mayor is absolutely spot-on.

While Daley whined when he felt mistreated by the media, Emmanuel delights in his default Rahmbo. The tone of Channel 5's coverage displeases him, so he thinks nothing of, literally, turning his back on their cameras. Some consider it theatre. I think it's the behavior of a politician of the Mike Madigan School of Doing Whatever You Like Because You Can.

In fact, Madigan should shiver a bit. So should all of Illinois. You're either this guy's ally or regarded as something he picked up on his shoe. Emmanuel redefines ruthless. In his arrogance, he knows he can get away with most anything he chooses to do. Who is there to question him? C’mon. The Chicago media? Please. Talk about bringing a limp noodle to a sword fight.

Beware Chicago. You’ve gotten what you asked for. Good or bad, Rahmbo’s about to rip you a new one.

Open Records...You've Got to Be Kidding!

2011-04-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

A reporter for the Chicago Reader has sued the city of Chicago to get a look at Mayor Daley's schedule, some Chicago Police documents about homicide statistics and a study that caused some personnel shifts within the police department. The suit says the reporter has previously filed Freedom of Information(FOI) requests to gain access to the information but the city has either denied or ignored them.

I applaud his efforts but suspect they will come to nothing.

Open Records and Open Meetings Acts look great on paper. The theory behind them is sound. We, as citizens, have a right to see how our government behaves. We pay for it. We should be able to watch it work. Or not work, as the case may be.

The problem: all bodies of government, in this case the City of Chicago, have great lawyers who know all the tricks to making sure the way the city really operates never comes to light.

Why would it be in Mayor Daley's interest to open his daily schedule to the public? Who knows what names would appear on it and what topics might be covered in the meetings he takes? And murder stats? A close study by a journalist could show manipulation of data, something that was unearthed in Chicago a number of years ago. Is there a reason to think procedures have changed since then? Statistics reflect what the keeper of the data wants them to show. Especially those of the Chicago Police Department.

The arrogance with which governmental bodies operate is well documented. There is freedom of information only if the bureaucrats allow it. If petitioned, they stall, using every legal and illegal method available to them, unless ordered by a court to respond. Unfortunately, that gives them the time to redact or cleanse the documents requested. Sometimes Open Records cases are just thrown out. Why? Aren't those making the rulings essentially bureaucrats themselves? Someday their decisions could come back to haunt them. Don't rock the boat.

Politicians and bureaucrats increasingly have shown their offhand regard for the rights of the people they represent. Our elected officials, and the people they hire, don't regard us as constituents. To them, we are "the citizens" and those who stand up and question them are "pests."

In 2011, "they" run the government and we have no right to question how they do it.

Watching the Eagles and Being Amazed

2011-04-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

It's an amazing site. If you are a fan of bald eagles, which I am, it's awe-inspiring.

This eagle mom, you see, laid three eggs. Two have hatched in front of our watching eyes. Another is...about to hatch. Any day now. Any moment, actually. Watching her feed her eaglets, those little squeaking clumps of grey with their black faces, tumbling around the nest, reaching up with wide-open beaks to take the food Mom or Dad offers (right now it looks like morsels of fish and maybe rabbit) darn near brings tears to my eyes. And makes me laugh out loud.

Bald eagles are wonderful creatures. Viciously strong. Graceful. Beautiful. And incredibly frustrating to photograph. I whipped around on a pontoon boat and snapped the picture shown above from waist level in the one moment I had before that particular eagle swooped out of sight above Trout Lake, Wisconsin last summer.

But the site noted above provides live, near-broadcast quality video of the eagles' nest. Eagles 24-7.

If you're not the fan I am, the Raptor Resource Project (http://www.raptorresource.org/) site in Decorah, Iowa, may not do much for you.

For me it's a connection with nature and a way to observe one of the more incredible creations of Our Creator.

On the Verge of...Ooops...IN Another War

2011-03-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

In Libya, President Obama seems to have created an open-ended scenario, complete with vague goals and hidden agendas, so he can please all sides. That seems to be his legacy. Reagan was the Great Communicator. Obama will be known as the Great Pacifier.

C'mon, we're fighting a demonic dictator who not only has hidden himself but has craftily made it impossible for news organizations to figure out how to spell his name. Which begs the question, how can he ever be brought before the International Court as a war criminal if the warrant doesn't have his name spelled correctly? As any regular viewer of Law and Order knows, that's grounds for an immediate dismissal of the charges before the third commercial break.

I offer what may appear to many as an overly simplistic and naive suggestion. This one man is the root cause of the upheaval in his country. Even our President (I think) would agree that he should be removed from power.
Hilary's negotiations, our missiles, rebel ground fighting, political manipulation, covert operations, editorial cartoons, and the tsunami in Japan all have failed to accomplish that goal.

Let's kill him.

One bullet to the forehead should do the trick.

At least one of his associates must have a movie script hidden away that he would like to see produced in Hollywood. President Obama has many friends in the movie business. Just sayin'.

A little quid pro quo and bang...done. End of the spelling bee.

Open Letter to My State Legislators

2011-03-06T09:39:00.000-08:00

I ask that you vote in favor of House Bill 7 and/or Senate Bill 27 which are intended to keep Firearm Owner Identification Card information confidential.

Publicizing the names of gun owners throughout Illinois will create problems, not solve them.

First, it will cause any number of people who now own firearms legally to simply refuse to register, or re-register themselves. Because the FOID card is required for legal weapon and ammunition purchases, as people decide not to register, the black market for guns and ammunition will expand. This will increase the number of weapons bought and sold illegally in the state and criminalize those individuals who would otherwise follow the law by obtaining an FOID card.

Second, if firearm owner information is allowed to become public, those individuals will be at risk of being targeted by thieves looking to steal guns. The reverse is also true. Those residents without a FOID card will be seen as vulnerable for burglary because they, apparently, do not have a registered weapon.

Finally, what purpose is served by allowing the news media, or anyone else, to have the names of legally registered gun owners?

Since the FOID card program began in the 1960’s, law-abiding citizens have registered with the understanding that their information will be kept confidential. I submit it is a great disservice to them to release their names. I realize the opinion from Attorney General Madigan considers that only the names of FOID card holders are “public information.” With the ready availability of search engines, however, their addresses and other information about them can be easily obtained by the news media or anyone else.

I also ask what sort of precedent this sets for the potential release of other confidential information held by the state. If the Attorney General believes the Open Records Act allows the media to have access to FOID card documentation, what will they request next?

Why Does the A.P. Want A List of Illinois Gun Owners?

2011-03-01T15:18:00.001-08:00

I was startled to see a story in today's Tribune that the Associated Press wants a list of all gun owners in Illinois and has filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act to get it.

And Attorney General Lisa Madigan, daughter of the most powerful Democrat in Illinois, House Speaker Michael Madigan, says sure, let's give it to them.

To own a gun in Illinois the state requires we register ourselves by obtaining a Firearm Owner Identification Card. The Illinois State Police, however, maintains the registry and has, apparently, taken issue with Madigan's order to release the information.

I agree with, and applaud, the State Police.

I can't think of any reason the A.P. would want the list other than to make it public. It's pretty obvious they want to do a story about the evil that lurks in every lawful gun owner's home. Probably in some misguided attempt to save us from ourselves. Their reason, of course, will be that they want to assure that the process is working as it should. How will they do that? Why publish the list, of course. Maybe run some random background checks, too.

First of all, that's an invasion of privacy. Second, it is an invitation to burglars everywhere, even though Madigan is quoted as saying gun owners' addresses should remain private. How long do you suppose it will take the media, with all the online data bases it has access to, to acquire every shred of information about individual gun owners that it wants?

Thus, burglars who are so inclined will know just where to go to get what they want.

Of course, any halfway intelligent thief will also understand that, if there's a gun in the house there's also a decent chance the owner of said firearm will choose to use it, rather than lose it.

It's the dummies I worry about. And there are far more stupid thieves than there are smart ones.

There are also the anti-gunners to worry about. What sorts of mischief will they cook up for us once they have our names?

This sort of ruling also makes me think the National Rifle Association and other groups are not so wrong in believing that liberal-leaning lawmakers would love to pass a law allowing the seizure of all firearms. Wouldn't this be a logical start to such a process?

Illinois already has among the toughest, if not the toughest, firearms laws in the United States.

Why put the lawful owners of firearms at risk of becoming victims of theft or worse by publishing a list that, rightfully, should remain private?

"Curveball's" Curveball, Lara Logan's Beating, Drew Peterson Live

2011-02-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

"Curveball" lied.

Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, an Iraqi defector, has admitted to The Guardian newspaper that he lied to U.S. officials about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction program because he wanted to "get rid of" Sadaam Hussein. Codenamed "Curveball," al-Janabi was one of the sources cited by the CIA and others in the Bush Administration as justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

None of this comes as any surprise and "Curveball" wasn't the only one making stuff up. Others came forward with little or no proof, too. The Administration was looking for an excuse to go to war. A large percentage of Americans were ready to get revenge for 9/11. Thus ... we got a war. And all the horrific casualties that go along with it.

Speaking of casualties, Lara Logan is the latest high-profile journalist to report suffering beatings and worse covering what amounted to a war zone in Eqypt, the day Mubarek announced he was leaving the Presidency. Anderson Cooper also claimed to have been beaten. Many other journalists were attacked covering the Egyptian tumult, often by government forces intent on getting revenge against the foreign media for just showing up.

It's awful and inexcusable that journalists become victims. But it is also inescapable fact in such situations and Cooper, Logan and the others knew the risks they faced. Were their injuries worth the risk? Was their reporting part of the reason Mubarek left office? I'm guessing they would say it was.

Drew Peterson, accused wife killer, will stay in jail today but his lawyers will be arguing before the 3rd District Court of Appeals that the "hearsay" evidence presented in a hearing several months ago should be ruled inadmissable. At issue is a new Illinois statute permitting the use of hearsay evidence in certain situations. Today's arguments break new ground in that they will be televised live.

I think the Appellate Court will throw out the hearsay evidence and that, eventually, Peterson will be set free.

The risks and realities of the legal system.

"Chicago Code" No "Shield"

2011-02-09T08:09:00.000-08:00

Shawn Ryan set the cop-show bar pretty high with The Shield. Expectations were that his new Chicago Code would be just as gritty and high tension.

If the pilot episode is an example of where Code is headed, it'll be dumped in the river by the fourth or fifth show.

The production values are terrific. Chicago Code looks like a feature film and the city shines. However...

A couple of dum-dum things struck me immediately. A chase scene, wherein the balls-to-the-wall detective instructs his partner to ram their unmarked car into the front of a line of several marked squads chasing the bad guy...is something out of Starsky and Hutch. Pulling up beside the bad guy so the detective can "negotiate" with him was ludicrous; it might have worked with snappier dialogue. "Escorting" the bad guy to see his girlfriend before taking him down . . .would get any real cop fired. Again, had the dialog been better...might have worked. It wasn't and it didn't. It just reminded me of the "Jared" commercial where the football player has tears in his eyes watching the guy propose to his girlfriend.

The main problem with Code...the characters lack motivation and aren't likeable. I have no problem with a female police superintendent...but her sudden desire to establish an anti-corruption squad isn't well enough established in the lame voiceover that opens the show. It's explained, yes, but without heart. The lead detective is so cliche (read cocky and unpleasant), it hurts to watch him struggle through his scenes. McGarrett in Five-O is arrogant, too, but his character is given great dialogue and a cast of equally strong co-stars.

Delroy Lindo, as Code's wicked alderman, has potential. He looks like the Devil in a nice suit. There's a bit at the end of the episode where he instructs his secretary/assistant to "kiss my ear" that's nicely malevolent and tells us a great deal about him.

But when you establish the bad guy as a corrupt politician with life and death power over a city like Chicago, the good guys at least gotta have potential. So far, the rest of the cast gives me no reason to think they have the balls to go up against this guy.

The Shield's pilot hooked me in the opening scenes. Chicago Code has a long way to go.

Should George Be At Lura Lynn's Bedside?

2011-01-30T13:45:00.000-08:00

Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich suggests today that convicted former Governor George Ryan be allowed to spend more time with his reportedly dying wife, Lura Lynn.

Ryan is serving time in federal prison. He's been allowed one short visit to her bedside already.

Schmich's column has generated hundreds of comments which, of course, was the intention. Whether she sincerely believes her argument or is making it for the purpose of "sellin' papers" is something only she knows. But she says society isn't punishing George by keeping him from his terribly sick wife, we're punishing her.

The fact that Schmich and so many others care about the lovely former First Lady of Illinois is wonderful. By all accounts, she's led a good life and has been a great wife and mother. And it goes without saying that anyone who is dying deserves to be surrounded by their loved ones.

Unfortunately, through no fault of hers, Lura Lynn Ryan happens to be the wife of someone doing time.

When an individual is convicted of a crime and goes to prison, it's said their family goes to prison with them. It is an unintended but unavoidable cruelty of the criminal justice system. Fallout, some would call it. Collateral damage.

Schmich never explains why she's asking for mercy specifically for Lura Lynn Ryan.

Aren't the ill and suffering spouses of other convicts just as worthy of our concern? If we're going to ask for mercy for Lura Lynn Ryan, let's include all of the mothers and fathers who are dying. All the sons and daughters, too. The grandchildren.

Surely they're just as deserving, aren't they?

Or is it just because Lura Lynn Ryan is the wife of a prominent person that Schmich thinks she should be shown special consideration?

Or maybe she thinks of George as a big ol' teddy bear. When I covered the Illinois General Assembly, George was Speaker of the House. Because of his surly voice and manner, some of us called him "George of the Statehouse," mimicking the cute "George of the Jungle" cartoon and song.

George of the Federal Pen isn't cute. He's well known, but he certainly isn't special nor deserving of any sort of extras. He's a convicted criminal doing time for heinous acts.

And like other convicts, his family, sick or well, good people or bad, must suffer for his actions right alongside him.

Add Lura Lynn Ryan to your prayers, Mary Schmich.

That's the best and only thing we can do for her.

The Politics of Murder

2011-01-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

A US Congresswoman is shot in the brain, 6 others are killed including a nine-year old girl and a federal judge and a dozen people wounded in an attack at the most unexpected of all places, a supermarket parking lot.

The immediate response...political finger pointing. The basic argument: hate mongering, both from the left and the right, is partially to blame.

I don't disagree.

I've said it before. We are a society furious with ourselves. Republicans AND Democrats, office-holders and pundits, ramp up the fear and hate while more media outlets than ever in history gleefully repeat their rants in a never-ending cycle of vicious attacks and violent slander.

And we're surprised that some viewers/watchers/readers are reacting with actual violence to what they perceive as a call to arms? When you touch fire to kindling, don't you expect it to ignite?

FBI Director Robert Mueller made the point in a news conference from Tucson today that, by virtue of the internet, "Hate speech is more available to individuals . . .the lone wolves, particularly,...than it was even eight to ten years ago." The Pima County Sheriff concurs, adding that hate speech has a special impact on "people with unbalanced personalities."

Put more directly, whackjobs who used to cover their windows with aluminum foil and scream at their televisions have started packing pistols and acting out in public.

How do you identify those whackjobs? We all know a few. Should we lock them all up? Some unstable individuals certainly should be hospitalized. If they don't appear to pose a danger to themselves or others, good luck. Won't happen. President Ronald Reagan and every administration since has made sure of that.

The obvious kneejerk reaction, then? Keep the nuts from getting guns. An easy and, in some quarters, popular call to make which carries no practical weight whatsoever. Short of banning handguns outright, what would you have lawmakers and gun sellers do?

It would be great if gunshops could install a whackdoodle detector to identify those customers with murderous intent. Some states, such as Illinois, require a waiting period between purchase and acquisition. That certainly helps avoid spur of the moment incidents but patience will out. The shooter in Arizona reportedly bought his handgun in November. No waiting period is that long. If it were, the really determined would . . . wait. Or buy illegally.

Bottom line, no Congress and no state legislature will ever be successful in an effort to ban handgun sales to the public. Just will not happen. And it shouldn't.

Many today have called for better protection for members of Congress and the federal judiciary. Bodyguards, as it were. I imagine we'll hear a great deal about that proposal in the next few weeks, just as we heard calls for better national security in the wake of 9/11. Frankly, it's a great idea but entirely cost prohibitive. Even a notoriously narcissistic Congress will never spend the money. Individual lawmakers may decide to personally take action and hire their own security personnel. It will be a short-lived solution because, frankly, after a few months with no problems and high overhead, they won't want to keep paying the bills. A couple of lawmakers vow to carry guns when they're in their home districts. I hope they're properly trained. Eventually, though, the guns will be left in desk drawers or glove compartments.

So...what's the overall solution. How do we keep such awful things from happening again?

Quick answer...we will do nothing useful. Sure there will be some short term responses and some cosmetic changes.

The fury won't subside. Guns won't go away. Armed guards cost too much.

And a year from now, what happened yesterday, just like 9/11, will be a fading memory.

Until the next time.

Grief and Respect During the Holidays

2010-12-08T03:51:00.000-08:00

This has been an unusual Christmas season. We've lost a few public faces and one from the neighborhood as well.

Ron Santo. Even if you weren't a Cub fan, you couldn't help knowing who he was. I was impressed and touched by the way he handled the way his diabetes ravaged his body. Both legs amputated and yet he continued working, continued cheering his beloved Cubs. He showed courage and grace.

Elizabeth Edwards, who died yesterday at 61. Diagnosed with breast cancer she continued working in her husband's campaigns, first for Vice President and then for President. She dealt with the death of her son. Eventually, she faced her husband's infidelity. An impressive person, she is one of my heroes.

So too was comedian Leslie Nielsen. He came to real celebrity with the movie "Airplane," and followed it with the "Naked Gun" series. Slapstick humor and goofy lines defined him as a guy who embraced his inner clown. He loved silliness, as do I.

My neighbor from across the street died last week, too. Izzy was a quiet fellow with, it's an understatement to say, a loving and devoted family. His death brought literally hundreds of people to our neighborhood to mourn him and comfort his wife, including many of the staff members from the care home where he finished out his days. One of them said she usually never attends the wakes of patients but Izzy's good humor and kindness made him special. I'd known him for twenty-plus years just as someone to visit with at the end of the driveway but I mourn the loss of a friend. He was one of the good guys.

Rest in Peace.

Testing The Pat Down

2010-11-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

I made a prediction a couple of days after 9/11.

Amidst all the calls for increased security and the public opinion polls that said Americans were ready for more aggressive protocols to keep us safe from another terrorist attack, I said, "Wait a few years. That tune will change."

It certainly has.

From "Don't touch my junk!" t-shirts to the planned "Opt Out Day" Wednesday, the traveling public has expressed the opinion that full-body scanners and pat downs really aren't necessary if they result in inconvenience, embarrassment and the potential for health risks from added x-rays.

Just out of curiosity, and because Kansas City uses private security screeners (as Congressman Joe Mica of Florida wants to see replace TSA at all the nation's busiest airports), I tested out a pat down at Kansas City International Airport yesterday on my way home to Chicago. KCI has full-body scanners but they are only used by the airport's two busiest airlines, Southwest and Delta. I was flying United.

I left a flashlight and a pen in my pockets as I went through the metal detectors. After I "beeped" three times, I was asked to step aside. I assumed the position: standing, hands out to the sides forming a "T." As the security agent frisked me, he explained he was checking my loose clothing for any metal objects I might have forgotten to put in the bin.

The pat-down was fast, semi-professional and didn't appear to draw attention from my fellow passengers. I say semi-professional for two reasons. The agent didn't touch my rear pockets and he wasn't aggressive enough in places where even embarrassed rookie cops in training are aggressive. Had I been wearing a shoulder, belt or ankle holstered weapon, he would have found it. If I'd had a a gun hidden in the area of my groin or a knife in my back pocket, I would have boarded the plane armed.

I watched for about a half hour as about a dozen other passengers were patted down. None voiced an objection. None received more thorough treatment than I. Some were patted only above the waist.

The conclusions I draw from my individual experience are that not all passengers are treated the same way and "pat downs" are not effective if done half-heartedly. I'm sure some security officers do a better job than others. Some do far worse.

Congress is not willing to mandate, nor is the traveling public willing to accept, the cost or inconvenience of truly aggressive security measures carried out by trained anti-terror professionals. The politicians, and the people, have fallen back to believing that, "It won't happen here...again." We all want to get swiftly to our destinations...not wait hours in line. We aren't even willing to trade momentary indignity for better safety.

As a result, Congress has provided unarmed, poorly paid security screeners to do an unpleasant job in the best way they can. The better they do it, the slower the line moves and the more complaints they receive.

As a result, we get TSA and private contractors who, in some highly publicized cases, frisk babies, the elderly, and those in wheelchairs. Colostomy bags break open. Genitals get touched, sometimes harshly. Inappropriate comments are made at indelicate times.

Is there a more efficient way? Not in a country as big, or as opinionated, as ours.

Will the procedures now in place prevent another tragedy? They have so far.

Will there be more complaints, even more lawsuits? Count on it.

Do people feel safer?

Answer that one for yourself.

Watching the War Through a Medal Winner's Eyes

2010-11-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

None of us really gets a sense of what war is about unless we've fought in one or heard a compelling story from someone who has.

Sgt. Sal Giunta is the first living Medal of Honor recepient since Vietnam.

President Obama presented his award yesterday at the White House. He has been interviewed everywhere.

After one has been a cop and then spent time as a reporter covering the harshest kinds of violence this side of a war zone, you realize that real heroes don't bluster. The truly tough guys aren't loud or obnoxious. They don't gladhand a room, perfect a grin for the cameras or offer up snappy soundbites.

Whenever a person is officially lauded for acting "above and beyond," whether a soldier, cop, firefighter or just a dad or mom protecting their family, you seldom hear them speak in terms of "I" unless it's to say, "I was just doing what anyone in that situation would have done."

Real heroes prefer the pronoun "we."

So it comes as no real surprise that Sgt Giunta, who looks like a cross between Tom Hanks and CSI:New York's Gary Sinise, is quiet and humble. His eyes are devastatingly sad because, for all his courage, he was not able to save the life of his best friend. As well spoken as he is, sometimes he repeats part of the interviewer's question to give him time to answer. And most of his answers are simple and to the point, self-effacing without being cool.

He truly doesn't seem to understand why he has been singled out when everything he did in war was accomplished while surrounded by a team of soldiers just as professional as he was. On Sixty Minutes , he told Correspondent Lara Logan, "I don't think I did anything that anyone else I was with wouldn't have done. I was in a position to do it. That was what needed to be done. So that's what I did."

He praises his wife for "being there" for him and for giving him the strength to get through it all.

He misses those who were killed, telling the President during the award ceremony he would give back the Medal of Honor if he could just have his friends with him again.

Sgt Giunta's story, his description of the ambush that led to his nomination for the award, the comments of the other soldiers from his squad who were with him, make for compelling reading and viewing.

No matter how you feel about the U.S. having troops in Afghanistan or about war in general, you should look up the reports online. The Sixty Minutes piece is excellent and his last line in the interview will leave you with a lump in your throat.

He and his buddies fought for us. The very least we can do is listen to their story.

Following Up Mr. Drive-By

2010-10-04T20:18:00.001-07:00

My earlier blog today focused on the facts some politicians and a couple of well-known religious leaders (read that "politicans of the cloth") forget to talk about when they push for tougher Illinois gun laws.

One of the points I raised is that the bad guys, aka the people who spray crowds with machine gun fire and randomly kill little kids and pregnant women, don't pay attention to laws already on the books that are designed to control access to firearms. . . so what would "tougher laws" accomplish? Who would they help (other than the politicians looking for the fear vote, of course)?

Case conveniently in point: Over the weekend, Chicago police acting on a search warrant raided the home of a Hegewisch neighborhood resident. According to the Chicago Tribune web site today, the officers, ". . .discovered five handguns, three assault rifles, a double barreled shotgun, hunting rifles, 21 magazines, a fully loaded 75-round drum magazine, 3,000 rounds of ammunition . . ."

Did the individual have as required by state law, an Illinois Firearm Owner ID card? No. Is he a licensed Federal Firearms dealer? I'm betting he is not. Did he possess the required permits to own handguns in the city of Chicago? Doubtful.

Guys like him laugh at existing gun laws! So why write more of them?

Some of our elected representatives and other irresponsible fear mongers grab headlines and camera time acting tough to impress their constituents. If they really want results, however, they won't come from "tougher" laws.

We need money to pay the salaries for more tough cops, to work the tough cases and to make the tough arrests that take hauls like "five handguns, three assault rifles, a double barreled shotgun, hunting rifles, 21 magazines, a fully loaded 75-round drum magazine, 3,000 rounds of ammunition..." off the tough streets.

Ducking Mr. Drive-By

2010-10-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

I'm as horrified as the next guy about drive-bys that kill the innocent, in whatever part of town they happen to be.

I'd get in line to protest gun violence,too, as long as the guns being protested are those in the hands of gang-bangers, drug dealers and anyone else using them for criminal purposes.

A Chicago priest is calling on Springfield to enact "tougher" gun laws. The Tribune's online edition doesn't spell out exactly what the good reverend wants those laws to say but I imagine it's more of the same kind of thing that we've heard from Rev JJ, Mayor Dick and the rest of the anti-gun crowd.

Here are some of the facts they never share with their audiences:

Illinois already has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation.

One cannot legally buy a firearm in this state without first obtaining a Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) card, which requires a background check. Another check is conducted at time of purchase and the buyer is then subject to a waiting period of 72 hours before a handgun can be delivered, 24 hours for a rifle or shotgun.

Illinois has no concealed weapons permit for civilians. We live in one of two states, Wisconsin being the other, that restricts concealed weapons to police officers.

Under Illinois law, a firearm cannot be carried in a vehicle unless it is unloaded, in a case and in the trunk.

Chicago, where the majority of gun crimes occur, has even stricter local ordinances regarding handguns.

Individuals wanting to legally purchase an automatic weapon can do so only after obtaining Federal certification from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives. Such certification is a lengthy process, requires a local law-enforcement sign-off and is relatively expensive.

All of these laws are regularly disregarded by those who wantonly spray bullets into crowds and kill children and by every crook who carries a pistol in their belt and produces it to stick up a liguor store.

Crooks pay no attention to the statutes now on the books. Why would enacting more restrictive laws make us safer? Criminals buy illegal weapons. Their suppliers don't fill out forms or require FOID cards. The people who sell guns to gang-bangers don't warn them against carrying concealed.

Wake up!

Yes, certainly, Illinois could act to entirely ban civilian handgun ownership. To what purpose? The state legislature could ban all rifles and shotguns, too. Why? Who would it help?

Sure, calling for tougher laws about anything sounds . . . well . . . tough.

It's a feel-good, political solution without real-world substance and, like most political solutions, it helps only the politician.

Out on the street, meanwhile, folks still be duckin' Mr. Drive By.

The Dead Freshman and a Bit on Bullying

2010-10-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

Two Rutgers University freshmen alledgedly shot secret video of a fellow freshman having sex with another guy. The subject of the video, 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, later jumped off the George Washington Bridge to his death. The couple allegedly behind the video has been arrested and could face even more charges if the case is determined to be a bias crime. I hope it is. The mopes won't see jail time but, at the very least, I hope Rutgers boots them out and the victim's family pummels them in court.

Bullying is a hot-button topic with me.

I was bullied from about age 8 to age 12. Daily and unrelentingly. I'll say two things about it. No one except a victim knows how frightening it can be and fighting back, sometimes viciously, may be the only answer. I pushed one kid's head through a window and fractured the skull of another. The bullying stopped but my family also dealt with some legal repercussions. So let me also say that fighting back may carry its own price tag.

Bottom line: whatever the circumstances, no one should ever be made to feel the only way out is off a bridge. I'll take a courtroom over a body bag any day.

I doubt the couple at Rutgers had any idea their video "prank" would turn out the way it did. At the same time, they allegedly went out of their way to humiliate another person. Whether they feel any remorse is questionable. If the case reaches a courtroom, I imagine we'll see some crocodile tears but who knows whether it will be real emotion or poor-poor-me grief.

As this case illustrates, bullying is not just about punching and kicking and it doesn't always stop after grade or high school. Witness the cruelty of a certain preacher and his followers from a Topeka, Kansas "church" who trot out their bias against homosexuals at funerals of soldiers and others.

And what do you want to bet that those fools intrude when the Clementi family lays their child to rest?

Who Cares What's in the Paper Anymore?

2010-08-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

Chicago Tribune TV critic Maureen Dowd is leaving the Tribune.

She says it's because of a diminished interest on the part of management in what she does, ie: watches and comments on a lot of television programs. She doesn't think she'll be replaced.

((Note to Randy Michaels: I'd be happy to take half her salary and work from home...))

C'mon. Who cares what a local critic thinks about what's on TV? Or what's good/bad about the movies? For that matter, who gives a rat's butt about a local critic's review of local theatre or books by local authors or, for that matter again, new cars?

And seriously, why do we need to have all those sports commentators taking up space? I don't care about the nitwits in the front office of the Cubs and how they choose players. Or all the stupid trades the Bears or the Blackhawks make. What's that to me?

Frankly, I'm not really interested in the opinions of a bunch of people who used to cover the news and now sit back in their suspenders and drink coffee all day and write stupid editorials, either. What difference do they make, huh? It's not like politicians get elected, or not, or policies/laws get enacted, or not, based on what some silly newspaper has to say.

Frankly all that mostly biased political coverage could go, too. For example, how many people in Illinois really care that Blago tried to sell a Senate seat? Huh? And those stupid "sidebars" and "soft features?" Bah! Columnists? I never agree with them anyway.

I just read the paper for hard news. Oh wait. I don't read the actual "paper" any more at all. Just look online.

Then you have to consider those stupid advertisements, too. I don't read 'em. Don't use 'em. Don't buy crap based on them. Do you really need them?

So what the heck, Randy Michaels and Sam Zell, get rid of all the extras and save yourselves some money.

When you think about it, all those big rolls of paper have got to be mucho expensivo.

Blago and the Kids Killed In Drive-Bys

2010-08-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

It doesn't surprise me that many people are ready to put the Blagojevich case behind them.

"IL is short on money and 12 year olds are getting shot in Chicago by gangs, but there is money to keep spending on a victimless crime like the Blago case," says one Facebookian. "Why are we wasting money on this? It's pointless. We give him too much press. If you want to hurt him, ignore him," says another. Yet a third says, "Let it go. He's been kicked out of office, and found guilty of a felony. Send him off to do his time and get on with other more important things."

It's no wonder we continue to have corruption in Illinois government. Folks like these don't see cause and effect.

Let me put it in terms they might be able to understand.

Say your parents leave all their money, every dollar, in cash hidden in their mattress. That's the money they use to feed and clothe you, to take you to Six Flags, to buy you Christmas presents.

On a regular basis, your big brother steals money from the mattress to buy games for his computer. Your dad goes into the mattress to pay for a few hookers. Your mom steals just because she knows the cash is there.

Pretty soon, your parents start telling you, you can't have new clothes for school this year. No more Cap'n Crunch for breakfast. No extra cash for the rides at Six Flags. And come Christmas, well, you get a nice orange in your stocking but not much else.

Let's make it even more personal. Your brother then takes your computer and sells it. He gives your bike to one of his friends.

Pretty soon, your parents tell you they have to move to a tiny apartment and you can't have your own room. In fact, you have to share a bed with your brother.

Think that's a silly comparison? You think Illinois politicians don't work like that?

Wait 'til after the fall elections when your "parents" show you their plan for taking back some of that money you earned working at the drugstore, L'il Tommy. Money they "need" because their mattress is getting empty.

"Why's the mattress empty, Mom and Dad?" Gosh, son, we don't know. But if you want to keep living here, you have to turn your paycheck over to us every month.

We'll keep taking care of you, son. Trust us.

Wake up, Illinois.

Governor Rod may try to cover himself with the bodies of dead kids so you don't notice, but he committed crimes that affect every single one of us. He tried to SELL a bleeping U.S. Senate seat for crying out loud.

Sure that kind of thing gets done under the table all the time. But THIS time, there's evidence. THIS time the Feds almost nailed him.

I say retry the mope until he's convicted and put him away until those thousand- dollar suits of his turn to rags.

Inception an Interesting Conception

2010-08-02T06:34:00.000-07:00

It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but it sure was one of the oddest. At three hours, it certainly was long.

I think folks are right. To understand the intricacies, one really needs to sit through all three hours at least twice. I got the basics after the first half hour. The next two and a half were mind-numbing. Not boring, just way too much. . .crap. If someone would just explain the subtle stuff I missed while I sit in a more comfortable chair that would be great.

I didn't really enjoy the film, more just endured it. Leonardo was terrific, however. Not that he got to the depth of emotion the sub-plot required but he was intense and believable. Seeing it in iMax was a treat. The size of the screen added another dimension to the special effects, which were Oscar worthy.

The imagination that went into Inception is worthy of another Oscar for Best Dreamed Up Plot.

Speaking of dreaming, the nightmare that is the coverage of Lindsay Lohan continues. I saw an article that she was released from jail after serving two weeks of her 90 day sentence for whatever it was that got her into trouble. Now she goes into rehab. She's scheduled next to appear in a biography of Linda Lovelace. How very, very appropriate.

Sunday Snippets

2010-08-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

From the patio table in the sunshine, with Socks Monster the Feline Action Hero relaxing on the bricks nearby (yep, he's got the aluminum reflector set up along with his iced tea and current novel)...

Chelsea Clinton has her wedding dress. It was on Yahoo just now. How lovely she looks. How little I care. I hope she has a terrific wedding and a long and happy life with her beau.
----

Chicago's CBS-2 is bringing back two stalwarts who drove the ratings for the station back in the 70's and early 80's. Bill Kurtis, most recently seen "discovering the Internet" for AT&T and seeking justice on Justice Files on cable, and Walter Jacobsen, will be anchoring Channel 2's 6pm newscasts. It's a shame they agreed to the re-pairing for a number of reasons, primarily because it smacks of a last stand by CBS to stay in the news game at 6. Family Feud would have been better.
----

The Blago trial jury is deliberating our former governor's future. My best guess is he may do a year or two but will walk on the primary count of trying to sell Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat. Why? The Government stopped short of presenting its entire case. Interestingly enough, the Defense, after promising Blago would testify, backed down entirely and presented no case whatsoever. I find that . . . odd. It suggests to me a scenario where the Defense predicted Blago would testify in such a way that information derogatory to certain political, or perhaps business, interests would come out in open court. The Government decided that should not happen and agreed to ratchet back if the Defense agreed to keep Blago's mouth shut. I'd hate to think that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, a guy regarded even among his peers as incorruptible, would allow such a thing to happen on his watch.

Then again, maybe that's not what happened at all.

Do we think we will ever get the real story? Nah.

Have a great Sunday everyone.

Defense Games and the Blago Kids

2010-07-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

The trial of Governor Blagojevich is about to go to the jury. What a relief.

As I've said before, I don't think the G made its case on the major counts. It just didn't come across that way in news reports, anyway. Maybe if I'd been a juror sitting there day in and day out...

I hope the prosecution nails him. I'd like to see the slimey, shifty, sneaky SOB go away for a few years somewhere there are no TV cameras and no soft shoulders of the media to cry upon. Because that's precisely what the media has allowed him to do. At every opportunity. It's been shameless, one-sided coverage with no real attempt to determine what damage he might have done had he succeeded in his schemes.

The media has allowed him to bob and weave and shake his finger and smile and sign autographs and act the boob right there on TV. It's let him get away with bringing his kids to court, without finding social workers or shrinks to tell us how really damaging that can be.

The media loves a show, and Blago's lawyers have certainly put one on.

They've argued (in the media...so far the judge won't let them say it in front of the jury) that the Government didn't call certain witnesses because their testimony might have been helpful to the defense. Oh please. The "missing witness" defense is as classic as "if everything goes against you, attack the lawyers."

If Sam Adam and Company felt so strongly that the uncalled witnesses could have helped them, why didn't they subpoena them for the defense? In fact, why did the defense roll over at the last minute and call NO witnesses in Blago's favor, even Hair himself?

Cross examination.

So, instead of sitting up there like a man and taking the prosecution's shots in an effort to make his own case, our former governor brings his kids to the courtroom as a distraction for the jury.

It's all a show, something that has defined Illinois politics for years.

Reality happens behind closed doors. And, thanks to the rollover Illinois media, it's allowed to stay there.

Believe What You Will

2010-07-22T13:35:00.001-07:00

My friend, Lindsey, gave me the news earlier this week.

Doctors found cancer in her brother Eric's pancreas last Friday. He is 25.

Lindsey's family was devastated.

I prayed for them.

I prayed as an older member of my church once suggested, by asking for a miracle. Hey, it sure doesn't hurt to ask.

I was going to write a note to the Uplift Team at church today, in fact, to get some help in prayer.

Just now, however, Lindsey texted me:

"You will never believe this. I still don't. They called this afternoon and said it was a fluke.

"There was nothing there.They did the test over twice and his pancreas is completely normal.But the test they did last Friday...the doc was sure it was cancer.It's unbelievable.They said it must've just been a shadow, but these docs are the best of the best...."

Nope, I said.They may be good, but they aren't The Best.

Choose to explain this any way you wish. My feeling is...for those who read this and who are not Believers...here's your invitation!

Praise God.

Another Chicago Cop Murdered

2010-07-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

I'm damned angry. If you live, and vote, in the city of Chicago, you should be, too.

Officer Michael Bailey was 62, just weeks away from mandatory retirement.

A Chicago police officer for twenty years, he was shot in his own driveway. He was still in uniform, having returned home after a shift spent guarding Mayor Daley's home.

Think about that. He was in uniform! What does that say about the people who attacked him? What does that say about the climate of violence in that one South Side neighborhood? In fact, he's the second off-duty cop still in uniform to be killed this month.

How ironic that he was part of Mayor Richard Daley's security team. Mayor Daley, the guy who says the city's wallet is empty and he can't afford to hire more cops. Mayor Daley, the guy who doesn't want law-abiding citizens to own handguns but allows violent criminals to feel so safe on the streets that they brazenly attack a uniformed police officer in his own driveway.

Will it make a difference that Daley personally knew this fine, brave copper? Of course not. He'll make a few meaningless media statements and perhaps attend Bailey's funeral. I certainly hope he is not allowed anywhere near a lectern on that sad day.

The City of Chicago needs to hire more cops. At least enough to replace those who are leaving in record numbers. Will that happen? No. As John Kass points out in the Tribune, "(The) mayor and his rubber-stamp council have spent all the money. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of deals went to the cronies. And now there's no money left to hire cops."

I absolutely believe that to be true. He's cheated you and the city and now, not even his cops are safe.

Be angry. Be furiously angry.

Better yet, come November, be votingly angry.

Mayor Daley's Reality

2010-07-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has made it clear. He only supports the idea of cops, politicians and his well-connected friends owning handguns. He certainly doesn't want the Average Windy City Joe or Josephine to have that privilege.

I figure that following all the new requirements set forth in the Daley gun ordinance will take about five or six years, especially if I'm right and the mayor has ordered that his new bureaucracy run as slowly as a kid to get a cavity filled.

Daley purports to be against gun violence. His argument appears to be...if you keep guns away from legitimate buyers, there won't be any guns. No matter that the "illegitimate buyers", AKA the bad guys, never paid attention to his gun ban and now have no interest in the red tape of his new law. They buy their guns where they can find them. Yes a certain number of them are stolen from legitimate owners, but that number is so infinitesmal it really doesn't matter. Accidental deaths from gun accidents are also a concern but they aren't what's killing innocents on an average of two or three a night.

Daley, as usual, is all about political puffery, not protecting his citizens. I'm sure his argument seems logical to those who work in lofty offices and listen to NPR all day and have never fired a handgun (ewwe those scary things? Never! cries Buffy from her 25th floor Lincoln Park condo with doorman and security) but all it does is show me how shallow and desperate he really is.

As usual, the regular guy suffers.

What's Good for the Goose is Lousy for Libraries

2010-06-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

For some years now, a fellow named Bruce DuMont has been building his dream.

A political commentator and television host, he's championed the Museum of Broadcast Communications. That's a 62,000 square foot repository of all the good things that we remember from TV in Chicago through the decades. Clips of old news programs from when real journalists, not clueless, blow-dry anchors delivered the evening reports. Kid stuff like Bozo the Clown, The Ray Rayner Show and even Garfield Goose, "The King of the United States". If you grew up in Chicago during the 50's,60's and 70's, you'll know what I'm talking about.

The MBC is a wonderful idea. Problem is, lack of promised state funding halted construction four years ago. The good news for Bruce DuMont and others, however, is that Governor Quinn just cut a check for six million dollars, putting contractors back to work. He announced it at a meeting of the media elite last week. The facility is scheduled to open next year.

That's great, but . . .

At the same time, the North Suburban Library System, a consortium of over 650 academic, public, school, and special libraries in north suburban Cook, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties, is running out of money. State funds allocated by the legislature have been withheld for this year.

The NSLS has operated for twenty years with no budget increase and, in fact, last August, had its budget cut by sixteen percent. Without the state money this year, many programs will cease. Layoffs have already begun.

In a recent letter (http://www.nsls.info/articles/detail.aspx?articleID=272), Executive Director Sarah Ann Long told members, "From our recent Needs Assessment Survey, we know van delivery service is the most important service for the majority of members. We will take all necessary steps to preserve this service intact. But most other services and programs will be dramatically reduced, eliminated, or spun off." Long goes on to say she will be one of those who is leaving.

Bottom line, there's no money for libraries but, somehow the Governor found six-million for Garfield Goose.

Sure the Museum of Broadcast Communications is a fine idea and an educational one, too. But what about the basics? Like books available on inter-library loan at no cost to low-income school children? Computers for use by families that have none? After school and summer programs? Books for shut-ins and the elderly?

Let's look beyond the libraries. What about the money for the state police which, according to stories in Downstate papers, has had to scale back manpower in many districts? Districts where troopers are the primary backup for local officers when they get into a jam?

How about money for other basics like school districts? How about paying the bills owed to the vendors who have supplied goods and services to state agencies?

While the Governor and legislature kiss up to Garfield, the rest of us get goosed.

Unconventional Interrogation?

2010-06-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

I'm going to take a wild guess that Joran van der Sloot, the fellow accused of beating and then strangling to death a Peruvian woman in his hotel room last week, confessed to the murder after facing some creative and unconventional interrogation by police.

Just a guess, mind you.

Van der Sloot, as you might recall, is the suspect in the disappearance of Natalie Holloway in Aruba. In fact, he was arrested twice and actually confessed several times to various scenarios involving Holloway but was released when authorities in Aruba failed to turn up enough evidence to keep him in custody.

In the most recent case, he's accused of breaking his female companion's neck after discovering she had read details about the Aruba investigation on his laptop.

Wouldn't you just hate it if your current girlfriend found out most of the world had you figured as a murderer?

I'm sure I'll hear objections but I think this is exactly the sort of case that begs for unconventional interrogation of the suspect. It's a shame the Peruvian cops didn't clear up the Holloway matter with Mr. Van der Sloot while they had his attention.

It's unfortunate, too, that U.S. law doesn't allow creative interrogation of some suspects. Particularly those who have killed a wife, or two, and then laughed in the faces of the cops, the families of the victims and the public.

With Van der Sloot and the others I'm thinking of, we're talking psychopaths of course. Predators who not only have no feelings, but delight in ripping the hearts out of those who do. For them, the mere act of murder isn't enough. Their true delight comes from our horrified reactions. They revel in the anguish they cause.

One of them even attempted to recruit a new victim right in front of us. You remember that, don't you? He proposed marriage. She accepted. Then her family and friends convinced her that her sweet patootie was actually something feral-hungry with sharp teeth and claws.

These are the sort of individuals who should face a much more unusual police interrogation. One designed to elicit specific answers to specific questions and then the promise of a guilty plea.

The sort of interrogation that requires a mop and a bucket to clean up afterward.

Memorial Day 2010

2010-05-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Lord, why must there be war?

Do we just like to fight?

Like children in a schoolyard, do we feel the need to punch and kick each other into submission just because we’re frustrated and can do nothing else?

Or are we led to conflict by our leaders for political reasons, over territory, for power or to assure a steady flow of oil? Or are there more glorious reasons: the freedom of oppressed people suffering under the yoke of dictatorships? Are we fighting for them, Lord, or are we fighting for us, to show off our mettle and assert our strength, just because we can?

Since the beginnings of this nation, Lord, we have thrown ourselves into combat. In doing so, we have sacrificed so much. We have brought generations of young men and, now, women, home in body bags. We have condemned countless others to lives in wheelchairs or worse. We have broken the hearts of their loved ones. Spouses must learn to cope without their partners, children without one or the other of their parents, parents without their children.

And what of those who now face the daily grind of war, Lord? The combatants who must live daily, not only in fear of their own death but with the knowledge they may have to take the lives of others to survive. And there is terror at home, as deaths in battle are reported almost as an afterthought on the evening news.

Lord, as the Cross testifies, you are no stranger to suffering.

We ask you for peace.

We pray the conflicts will stop and that you will bring our troops home unscathed and whole of heart.

Until then, Lord, on this Memorial Day, please bless and hold close those who serve and those who have lost friends and loved ones in any of our armed conflicts. Please include those from law enforcement and the fire service, as well. We owe so very much to our heroes, both living and fallen. Please keep them in our hearts always.

In the name of Jesus, who sacrificed for us all, Amen.

I Agree With Sarah Palin...OMG!

2010-05-13T07:31:00.000-07:00

During last night's appearance in Chicago, Sarah Palin took on Highland Park officials who have refused to allow the girls varsity basketball team to travel to Arizona for a tournament in December.

Hell may freeze over but I agree with her.

The school district's reasoning, explained in an email to me yesterday from Superintendent George Fornero, is thus: "We cannot commit at this time to playing at a venue where some of our students’ safety or liberty might be placed at risk because of state immigration law." Fornero denies the school district is playing politics by boycotting the Arizona tournament. "Rather," he says, "Under long standing constitutional law, all school districts are required to provide an education to all children within the District’s borders regardless of immigration status. Similarly, when our students travel, the school district is responsible, both legally and ethically, for their safety, security and liberty.

Fornero hasn't answered my question about who specifically made the decision. I find that odd. Did he wake up in the morning and kill the trip? Did the decision come from one of his assistants? The District 113 School Board? If, indeed, it was the school board, was it put to a public vote or agreed upon by a series of private phone calls so the nasty media (and voters) wouldn't have a chance to see how each member felt about the issue?

Or did the dictum come from Highland Park City Hall where, employees tell me, most significant issues are decided the old fashioned way: in back rooms by certain select individuals?

Bottom line, is it really the safety and liberty of students that school officials are worried about? Or are some Highland Park leaders taking a personal jab at the new law?

Frankly, I think Arizona is nuts. The immigration measure is a publicity stunt and will be overturned as soon as the U.S. Supreme Court reviews it.

I also think Highland Park is overreacting. The likelihood of a group of student basketball players being in any way touched by the law is minimal.

It's the fear of the backroomers running Highland Park that the city will be somehow embarrassed that has caused them to act.

Young People, Partying and Common Sense

2010-04-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

A cretinous piece of street garbage wielding a baseball bat attacked a couple of innocent women on their way home from a night of clubbing in the Bucktown area of Chicago early this morning. Both women are in the intensive care unit and the prognosis, at least for one of them, doesn't look good.

My heart goes out to these young women and their families. I pray that the parents of one of the girls, an Irish exchange student, will be able to get to Chicago to be with their daughter given the disruption of flights overseas caused by the volcanic ash eruption.

News stories say the women were out celebrating. The attack occurred when they were walking home at 3:30am.

Therein lies the problem.

They were alone, on the streets of Chicago, at 3:30am.

Of course they had a right to be there and to expect they would get home safely. Unfortunately, the person who attacked them had other ideas. And he was the one with the bat.

The one with the weapon usually wins.

The moment they left that club, those women ceased being nice girls out for a night of fun. They assumed the unfortunate role of "targets of opportunity."

They didn't deserve what happened to them. Few victims of violent crime do.

But when you engage in behavior that makes you a target, you contribute to your victimology. I'm not assessing blame. I am evaluating risk.

Male or female, alone or in a small group, going out on the streets of a major city at 3:30 in the morning after a night of partying, especially if alcohol is involved, is like wearing a big neon sign that says, "I'm helpless, attack me."

Think before you drink. Think before you party at all, regardless of the beverages you imbibe. Before you go out for the evening, consider your options for getting home and make sure you stick with your plan. If you can't count on your friends, have enough cash to call a cab.

Feral creatures of the night sniff the air for the scent of innocents.

Roger Ebert is Annoying

2010-04-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

Ebert calls the new movie Kick Ass "morally reprehensible" because it depicts an eleven-year old girl as a cartoonishly violent martial artist and assassin, punching and chopping her way through a gang of thugs and using language that would make a standup comedian blush.

Yet Roger had no such criticism for a movie last year that I felt was one of the most reprehensible and unneccessarily brutal that I'd ever seen. In Last House on the Left a gang of killers beats and rapes one teenage girl and shoots another in the back as she is trying to escape. And the rape scene is arduous and graphic.

Yes, Kick Ass is unquestionably violent. And yes, the little girl has a potty mouth (which, I agree, could have been toned down, probably to better effect). She also gets punched out toward the end by a far bigger and stronger adult. But come on, Roger! You gave Last House on the Left four stars and mentioned the rape only in passing. Kick Ass got two thumbs down.

Kick Ass is a dark comedy crafted from the cartoon of the same name. The "super hero" characters are what Peter Parker might have become if he had only the suit and a bellyful of moral outrage (and enough Lotto winnings to buy an arsenal that includes a bazooka, Gatling gun and a jetpack). It's campy and fun and devilishly unrealistic in a Jackie Chan, John Woo, chop-socky sort of way. Most important, however, it has heart and characters who care about each other.

I can't begin to say that about the trash that is Last House on the Left which looked to me as though it was written and filmed by a bunch of people with some frightening sexual fantasies.

Roger, your moral compass is seriously skewed.

All Bluster, No Muster

2010-04-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

Not really surprised to learn that Blago's been fired from The Celebrity Apprentice.

The Sun-Times story this morning says our former governor couldn't work a computer at "even the most basic level" and had trouble using a smartphone. It also comes as no shock at all that he tried to run his team from Orlando while they were working in New York. Shades of a governor who was terrified to leave Chicago and assume the appropriate seat of power in Springfield.

It's pretty sad, actually. A man so desperate for attention that he's willing to become a bumbling idiot on national television. And to repeat the performance in one way or another for months and months, every time he's given the opportunity.

He's mentally ill, of course. The question is: is he exposing himself this way to set up a fallback insanity defense when his corruption case goes to trial? Or is this the way a sociopath melts down when he's not smart enough to stay in control? Or, another possibility, is this just a guy having all the fun he can, knowing the end is approaching?

But who is ultimately at fault? We elected him, didn't we? We pulled the levers that put him in office without doing a whit of due diligence to determine whether his qualifications were real or a political sham.

We're poised to do it again. Two mopes running for governor. Two mopes running for the U.S. Senate. To apply the word "statesman" to any of them is a joke of diabolical proportions.

Whether "crook" is also an accurate description remains to be seen but, after all they are Illinois politicians.

And we are the Illinois electorate that has not learned from its mistakes.

Two Stories To Make You Smile

2010-03-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

My friend, Barb, is likely on her way to Mexico this morning with her husband. I'm sure she felt very blessed to be getting on the plane.

Earlier this week, a drunk driver hit her while she was driving to work on the Kennedy. He was alledgedly doing about one-hundred miles an hour. His car burst into flames. He got out, ran and was later captured. Barb tells me a Good Samaritan helped her out of her car before it caught fire.

A Good Samaritan. Imagine that. Have fun in Mexico, Barb.

The Tribune is reporting about another Good Samaritan this morning.

Dan Coyne, a social worker for the Chicago Public Schools, is donating one of his kidneys to his favorite supermarket cashier, Myra de la Vega. They met at the store. She told him about her renal failure and the eight-hours a day of dialysis she undergoes after her shifts at a Jewel in Evanston. Coyne decided to help her.

Have fun with your new life, Myra.

Good Samaritans. An interesting concept. Go with God's Hand on your shoulder, good people.

And some folks say they have never seen a miracle.

More Dumb Crooks

2010-03-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

I barely finish one blog about dumb crooks and, wow, get to write about more.

Seems like a Chicago man who's been arrested sixty-four times got nailed again the other day. He allegedly hid inside the Loop Macy's until after closing time and then tried to escape with some merchandise. Cops were wise to his stunt and confronted him. He reportedly resisted and was Tasered. While some may argue that Tasers are cruel and inhumane and instruments of torture, I really don't feel sorry for this guy. Do you? If you do, write and tell me why, please. Happy to have you air your feelings.

And then we travel out to Schaumburg which seems to have been home to a bunch of hookers lately. After getting stung in a sting a week ago, one of the young ladies allegedly went back to the same hotel with a buddy the other night and tried to hold up a couple of other upstanding citizens at gunpoint. A gunfight broke out. The accused hooker's boyfriend of two years (according to her mama) wound up dead and the victim and a couple of others including the alleged hooker, were wounded.

Flash forward to today in court. The accused hooker, now charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery, hears the judge set her bail at 3 million dollars and collapses, hyperventilating to the courtroom floor. I wonder if she pulled the same stunt when she was was arrested for battery, aggravated assault and resisting arrest in Winnebago County last year; or when she received a three-year sentence for a Kane County robbery conviction in 2006; or when she got probation in a 2004 felony retail theft charge and, separately, for aggravated battery to a police officer in Kane County in 2004?

For those wondering why she was charged with murder in this case without firing a shot, it's called the felony murder rule and provides that anyone charged in a felony crime resulting in death can be held responsible for that death.

What's great about this case, however, is that no one who really matters died. I don't see the boyfriend as any loss to society (was he also her pimp?). And were the 'victims' of this alleged 'robbery' really victims?

The Tribune quotes her mama as saying, "I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe she lost her boyfriend and is charged with his murder."

Believe it, Mom.

Buffoons of Crime and Religion

2010-03-08T09:31:00.001-08:00

I know it's going to surprise many of my thousands of loyal readers but, in the interests of fairness, I must admit I have been called a buffoon once or twice in my life.

That said, I would like to point to several others who have taken bufoonery to way, way higher levels.

There are the two winners who reportedly conspired to kill the ex-girlfriend of one of them in Darien, Illinois last week. Dumb alledgedly convinced Dumber to hammer through a window into the exes parents' home and go on a shooting spree. Dumber alledgedly killed the exes parents and her brother. Fortunately, he missed the ex and a couple of others.

Police rounded up Dumb and Dumber shortly thereafter and even taped them bitching at each other after their arrests. They could and should face the death penalty. In fact, in Doug's World, they'd just be taken out in back, shot in the head, and dumped in a sewer.

Same for the two evidently criminal masterminds who alledgedly conspired to burn down a Cicero, Illinois apartment building for the insurance money. Cops busted the two of them last week. Mastermind Number One reportedly told Mastermind Number Two, "Set the fire in the afternoon when the kids are at school." The apartment building went up in flames at 6:30 one morning and the fire killed seven people, including children and even a newborn.

And then we come to my favorite Buffoons: a family of them, in fact. I call them the Phlegms. They are members of a religious cult, led by the Rev Pherd Phlegm, in my opinion one of the more aggressively evil bastards of our time. The Phlegms claim God hates homosexuals and they take their message, in particular, to the funerals of those who have died in the service of our country. The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it will hear the appeal of a case filed against Rev. Phlegm and his snot-nosed crew. The lower court and a court of appeals denied the claim of a military family that the Rev's demonstration at their son's funeral caused them harm. We'll see what the Supremes have to say.

My guess is, the Justices will uphold the Phlegms' wanton and intentionally cruel displays of prejudice, all in the name of nothing more than getting cheap publicity for their buffoonery, as Free Speech.

However, I suspect the Highest Court will view the Rev Phlegm and his followers with far less tolerance.

Guns, Guns and More Guns

2010-03-03T07:57:00.001-08:00

If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Chicago handgun ban when it rules in June, I'll be overjoyed.

I will also be apprehensive.

I enjoy target shooting and I agree with the folks who believe the Second Amendment gives us the right to own firearms, including handguns. I also agree, however, that there can and should be restrictions on that right.

For example, if one of my neighbors could legally own an automatic rifle, I suspect he would be out shopping for one now. To repel the hordes of whoever from raping and pillaging when the evil red menace takes over the world. Actually have two neighbors who think like that. It's sort of comforting, really. I know I'll be well protected when Mad Max comes calling. Or at least, all the shooting at that end of the street will let me know when he's in the neighborhood.

The problem is that one of those neighbors doesn't believe he needs any training to own a firearm. "I've messed around with guns since I was a kid," he told me a few weeks ago. "So now I got my FOID card, where do I go to buy a pistol?"

Some gun safety is intuitive. Assume it's always loaded. Don't point it at anything you don't intend to shoot. Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot. Those sorts of things.

As with many activities, however, the problem arises when you don't practice. Practice handling your weapon and practice using your weapon.

If the Supreme Court throws out Chicago's gun ban, many people will buy a handgun without a moment's thought of learning how to appropriately and safely use it. They'll ooh and ahh over it, show their friends, throw it in a drawer and leave it for the next burglar who stops by to take it when they aren't home. Or worse.

Yes, you have a right to own a handgun. Absolutely. With it, however, comes responsibility to know how and when to use it. And how to store it in such a fashion that it will be available to you when necessary and not be the spoils of someone else's looting spree. Or, worse, your child's curiosity.

Serious gun owners know the rules and accept the requirements of ownership.

It's the frivolous ones who make me nervous.

But you go, Justices. Rid Chicago of Daley and the Rev JJ's law. Maybe then some of the bad guys will be a little nervous, too.

Sheriff to Students: "Ignore the Rules"

2010-02-26T06:51:00.001-08:00

The pro-handgun Sheriff of Latimer County, Colorado is challenging Colorado State University's handgun ban in a controversial way.

Sheriff James Alderden says the ban will not reduce crime but, indeed, have the opposite effect of letting crooks know the students are helpless. The new CSU rule also covers pepper spray.

Alderden says if a student carrying one of his lawfully issued concealed carry pistol permits is arrested, he will refuse to book the student into his jail. He also says he will go to court and testify on that student's behalf.

I hold permits which allow me to carry a concealed firearm in about forty states (ironically, not in my home state which has no option for concealed carry by non-law enforcement personnel). I was trained first as a law enforcement officer and NRA-qualified handgun instructor. I have updated my training in some fashion every year since I renewed my interest in handguns and target shooting about four years ago.

I support reasonable concealed carry laws with mandated, real-world training.

All of that said, I don't agree with Sheriff Alderden's position.

The University has the right to set rules on its campuses. I don't like the fact my home state doesn't allow me to carry a concealed weapon but, it's the law. I don't like it but I follow the law.

Sheriff Alderden has told the media that students will be "okay if they don't get caught." Unfortunately, that's the way a lot of politicians look at the world. It's also the way the bad guys think. Is that the way the Sheriff encourages young people to approach life?

I believe in the Second Amendment and in laws that allow appropriately trained individuals to carry concealed weapons. I think Colorado State University officials are short-sighted in adopting a rule that prevents lawful carry by permit holders.

But. It's their campus...their rules. Work to change the rules, Sheriff. Don't urge your permit holders to break them.

The Squeak of the Tiger

2010-02-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

Why did any reporter cover Tiger's speech today?

Yeah, yeah, I know they gotta. But still. I would have liked to see the mainstream media take the approach the Golf Writers did. Everyone should have boycotted his little morning mea-sorta-culpa up to and including his huggy-kissy time with his mama.

Why?

Most reporters weren't even allowed in the room. They watched from a hotel a mile away.

Pool reporters were present for the speech...but not allowed to ask questions.

The whole thing amounted to what one sportswriter called an "infomercial" and was scripted down to the last hug and handshake by Tiger's handlers. To me, that's not news coverage. That's like using one of the dozens of video news releases sent to newsrooms every day.

He said nothing stunning or newsworthy. Yeah he's sorry. Wonderful. He's as sorry as the guys on trial for murder who cry for the judge when they're sentenced. Is he sorry for what he did, or is he sorry he got caught? Is he sorry he devastated his wife and family or sorry that he's unlikely to get any quiet action on the side for awhile, at least while he's in sex-addiction therapy?

Frankly, the Tiger story got more coverage than it deserved anyway. This guy plays golf, for crying out loud! He's not the President with the nuclear arsenal at his disposal. He's not even a politician who embarrassed himself and his constituency by getting caught screwing when he claimed to be hiking or discovered knocking up a videographer while running for President.

Tiger Woods is a professional athlete who disappointed some of his fans, probably impressed some others with his virility and stamina, enraged women and right-thinking men who disapprove of random adulterous affairs and ticked off his sponsors and a bunch of guys in goofy colored pants who (skillfully) hit little white balls into holes in the ground in unusually pristine surroundings.

And we wonder why the media doesn't root out corruption in government any better than it does.

It's too busy following pecker tracks.

Where's My Million Dollar Office?

2010-02-18T07:28:00.000-08:00

First this disclaimer: I am not, never was and likely never will be Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The only chance for me to get the job of Speaker will be if Future President Palin asks me to serve. By then, she will have suspended all elections and be appointing lackeys to various posts to make it "look" like we have a functioning representational government. I'm sure she will allow me to lackey from home three days a week.

For a million dollars worth of retirement office, I could lackey with the best of them. I have references from past employers.

That office is what I really want. And the **Perks** that come with it. I figure I'll lackey a year, then slide down the slush fund highway to my retirement.

Former Speaker Denis Hastert has his million dollar **Perk** retirement office out in Yorkville. Funding is mandated by Congress. According to the Chicago Tribune this morning, former Speakers have been awarded **Perks** by the taxpayers since 1959.

According to the Tribune, with that simple and austere looking office comes a rent payment each month to his cronies, retirement jobs for the staff who served him so nobly for years (among other things, a hundred G a year for a secretary...hmmm...wonder how full-time wink wink that job is. Maybe I'd rather be a retired Speaker's secretary), a vehicle, money to throw at other former cronies for "consulting work," plus all expenses paid for **Perks** like Comcast and Direct TV.

All this for a guy who charges $25,000 to give a speech. Of course, he can't use his retirement office or his retirement staff of junior lackeys or any of his **Perk** computers or **Perk** Blackberries to arrange those. He also can't use the funds or the office to help him in the lobbying work he does for a couple of minor foreign countries. Noble statesman that he is, I'm sure he abides by those rules. **Perks** only stretch so far. Cough cough.

I promise I won't charge 25G to give a speech. Once I lackey, then retire and move into my new **Perk** office, I will stay the same humble guy I am now. My fee for speech-giving will remain at a few hundred bucks, a nice tray of cookies and some flat soft drinks.

What I'll really want to do is spend time in my **Perk** retirement office. Perhaps I'll hand out **Perks** to some of my cronies, too. I'll need a staff of course. A vehicle. And consultants.

Maybe one of them can be former Illinois Speaker of the House George Ryan. Old Speakers need to hang together and George loved it when I worked in Springfield and hummed "George of the Jungle" whenever he walked into the statehouse press room. George is living in his retirement office at public expense right now but I hear it's not as plush as Denny's and he wants out to tend to his ailing wife.

If he and Lura Lynn last that long, I'm sure President Palin will grant him his wish. Then he can go to work for me and we can both spend our days watching TV in my austere **Perk** retirement office.

I wonder if the **Perks** for a retired Speaker include more than basic cable? We'll for sure want to catch the reruns of Prison Break.

I'm Puzzled

2010-02-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

This Alabama professor who allegedly shot three of her colleagues to death Friday night apparently went to a shooting range with her husband recently.

That, in itself, really isn't strange.

What's odd is that the husband is quoted as saying he didn't know where the gun came from that she used at the range, nor why she suddenly had an interest in going to the range at all.

Here's the way the Associated Press story sums it up, "Bishop's husband said nothing unusual happened on their trip to the shooting range, and that she didn't reveal why she took an interest in target practice. Nothing in her behavior before the shooting foreshadowed the violence last week, either, he said."

Let's rewind and read a part of that again, shall we? "Nothing in her behavior before the shooting foreshadowed the violence last week, either, he said."

Nothing at all? Really. What about the behavior of acquiring a deadly weapon?

Call me weird but if I was married to someone who, at age 19, shot and killed her brother and she suddenly came home with a pistol and, out of the blue, wanted to go to the shooting range, I think I would at least ask, "Gee honey, where did you get the gun and why?" Or maybe even, "Who are you angry at, sweetheart?"

And I think I might worry. Just a tad.

Foreshadowing of violence is not always labeled. But, in this case, suddenly showing up with a handgun and wanting to go to the range, it is pretty darn clear. I'm not saying the husband could have done anything at all but maybe, just maybe, if he had paid a little better attention, perhaps asked a few questions to determine her state of mind?

Nah. That's asking too much. It's easier to say nothing tipped him off.

And I sure would like to know where the gun came from and how she got it.

In the News...

2010-02-11T07:16:00.000-08:00

Authorities in Tennessee are holding a fourth grade teacher accused of shooting and wounding two principals at his school. It happened during a snow day yesterday in Knox County Tennessee. The kids had all been sent home before he allegedly opened fire, critically wounding one of the women but putting both of them in the hospital.

A former employer is quoted as saying this same suspect was arrested in the 1990's for making threats toward him and carrying weapons.

The suspect's brother says his family tried earlier this year to get a restraining order on the guy because of "mental problems." It was denied.

Okay, first question: why didn't the school district know any of this? And if his arrest history was known, why did they hire him to teach fourth graders? Sure it's unfair to armchair quarterback but come on! An arrest record for threats of armed violence?

The topics "violence" and "schools" bring to mind a couple of ridiculous experiences I had while on book tour.

The first one occurred at the high school in the town where I live. They invited me to talk during a symposium called Focus on the Arts, about my job as a crime reporter. I walked in the door and they handed me a sheet of instructions that listed all of the subjects I was not allowed to mention. School policy dictated no discussion of such things as: violence, death, guns, knives, street gangs, murder, blood, gore ... all of which which were, of course, the daily makeup of my job...that I had been invited to describe.

The second took place at a large high school in a nearby suburb. The son of a friend was in an English class and his teacher invited me to lecture on writing mysteries. She emphasized to me beforehand that she was quite the true-crime buff and invited me to feel free to talk about my work as a crime reporter as well.

What greeted me when I walked into the classroom was a lifesize poster of John Wayne Gacy. Next to it, grim pictures of Jeffery Dahmer and a host of other well-known serial murderers. The true-crime buff was true to her word. Along with having her class learn about fictional mysteries, she had instructed them to pick their favorite serial killer, from a list she provided, study up on him, and write a paper. Some of the students admitted to me later they had never heard of their "favorite" before the class and had nightmares from doing their research.

Oh, but the best part of the class was the Q and A session! Right before it began, teach passed out the questions. Made sense, I thought. Some students might be embarrassed to ask stuff in front of the class, or might bring up inappropriate topics. Was I ever surprised. "Have you seen a lot of dead people?"; "When you were a cop, did you kill anyone?": "What's the grossest thing you have ever seen?"

School daze for sure.

What Chumps We Are...And They Know It

2010-02-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

What chumps we are, the voters of Illinois.

We select a candidiate for Lieutenant-Governor with a remarkable past and no skill-set toward governance whatsoever.

It's not the consorting/cavorting with a convicted prostitute that I'm talking about. That's a big so what? to me. Cover Springfield as a reporter for awhile and you'll understand why. Hookers and politicians go together down there like massage oil and warm hands.

It's the steroid and spousal abuse he also proclaimed. Oh absolutely he was up front about his shortcomings. And God bless him for it. You have to admire the guy for going into a political race with that kind of baggage and making it public.

I've long said we need a few "citizen politicians," Candidates without ties to the Machine. Candidates with a strong business background and a studied, if not practicial, understanding of Illinois politics. The guy voters chose as the democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor is a successful pawnbroker. It's likely he knows something of business.

He certainly did not understand Illinois politics.

Nor, apparently, do we.

First of all, the elected candidate for Democratic Lieutenant Governor is placed on the ticket with the elected candidate for Governor. That's a guy who is already is going to have a tough race. He is backed by the President of the United States and the Democratic National Committee. It should have been obvious to the Pawnbroker, and to us as voters, from the very beginning that the Democrats would never allow him to run in the general elections in the fall. But it took a visit with the Illinois Godfather, otherwise known as the Speaker of the Illinois House, to convince him. The deed is now done. The Pawnbroker is toast.

But through it all, the Godfather and the rest, have been laughing at what chumps we are. First that we would want to put a guy with his lack of credentials and obvious history, in office. And second that we accept, without challenge, the other candidates fielded by the Democrats. And, frankly, the Republicans as well.

Illinois is going into the elections in the fall with a slate of political hacks and lame wannabes on both sides. Every single one of them is connected in some way to the Chicago Democratic Machine.

What the Pawnbroker's rise and fall shows us is what the Godfather and others have always known. What those in power always know.

The sheepdogs lead the sheep. The manipulators lead the chumps. The Mayor and the Godfather select the candidates. And we elect 'em. Every time.

In the News...

2010-01-21T08:32:00.001-08:00

Three stories in the news caught my eye today.

Betty Broderick is up for parole. Back in the early nineties, she shot and killed her ex-husband and his much younger wife after a really nasty divorce. She portrayed herself as a victim and a bunch of women supported her. She became the poster child for housewives who feared their husbands would dump them for younger babes. That happens so frequently in California. Books were written about her. Merideth Baxter (from "Family Ties")played her in a couple of TV movies.

Frankly a prosecutor friend of mine put it best: the solution for a bad marriage is divorce, not murder. Especially not a double murder where the killer slips into the house and kills the happy couple in bed.

A big thumbs down on Betty to the California Parole Board. No, I don't think she's a risk to society at large. But I sure wouldn't lay odds on the survivability of any new boyfriend who pisses her off.

Speaking of "victims," Conan O'Brien is reportedly signing a deal today that will give him $32 million to leave NBC in the wake of the Jay Leno fiasco. His staff will split an additional $12 million. It's been one of the better and more fun stories to watch in this grim new year. A bunch of idiots with money to burn screwing each other.

And now, thanks to the US Supreme Court, another bunch of idiots with money to burn will be able to use it to bankroll American elections.

The Supremes ruled today that business, unions and non-profits can contribute more freely to political candidates. It's a freedom of speech thing, say the Justices.

My favorite quote comes from Justice Anthony Kennedy, one of the High Court's conservative members, voting with the majority.

He says, "The appearance of influence or access," he wrote, "will not cause the electorate to lose faith in our democracy."

Oh really?

No Makeup Application Zone

2010-01-18T12:01:00.000-08:00

Oprah wants everyone to stop texting and driving.

Her heartfelt (as much as anything coming from her mouth really can be) message today explained that those who text and drive are eight times more likely to have an accident than someone who is merely driving. That's TWICE as likely as someone using a cell phone the old-fashioned way...for talking.

I'm guilty of both and, as judgemental of DUI drivers as I am, I'm going to stop doing the mobile phone thing as much as possible. A friend told me today, he always pulls to the side of the road to text. I do too, although not always intentionally.

But I have a bigger gripe that Oprah didn't address.

What about drivers who are putting on their makeup at 80 mph? Or, as was noted by a friend, balancing their checkbook, calculator in one hand, pen in the other? Or even chatting with a friend in the passenger seat? Or many friends, as in the much touted way to green up our driving experience, the car pool.

"Your car is not a phone booth!" Oprah exhorts. She is absolutely correct.

It is also not a dressing room. That mirror hanging from the windshield, or the back of your sun visor, is not for putting on makeup. Your steering wheel is not a desk or a dining room table. Spill a drink, kill a child.

Keep it in mind.

A Friend Died for the Second Time Today

2010-01-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

This time, he won't be coming back.

John McElroy would have been 66 on his birthday at the end of February.

He and I were friends for thirty of those years.

He taught me good habits as a cop (except that he drove faster than any human being ever drove a law enforcement vehicle), told great stories, endured many of mine, made me laugh and finally, tonight, made me cry.

John was a stalwart and caring friend. He seemed to know just when to call to keep me out of trouble and listened with interest and good humor, no matter how bizarre the tale I told him. His adventures, on the other hand, always made me grin. In fact, if I answered the phone and heard, "It's McElroy..." I knew I could expect a treat: wonderful conversation, rapier wit and the kind of warmth that can only come from a kind, kind heart.

John died for the first time a number of years ago.

He had a heart attack while teaching a class as an agent of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. He was dead several minutes before being shocked back to life with emergency gear that had been installed just days before at the Highway Patrol Academy.

Later, eyes twinkling, he would tell me he'd died but was "rejected" and "sent back."

John's "death" and a continuing heart condition led to an early retirement from the KBI. He went on to become Executive Director of the Kansas State Gaming Agency, as well as an active sailor, RV enthusiast and fan of Segway scooters. In fact, John set legal precedent when he sued for Segway access to a Topeka shopping mall.

I had the good fortune of talking with John at least weekly, sometimes more often, in the months since he was diagnosed with stomach, esophageal and liver cancer in August. I learned four important things during our talks. Though one tough and unyielding old bird in most ways, he was a devout Christian. He accepted his fate and wasn't afraid to die. And he promised to keep laughing at me from Heaven every time I mess up.

John died this morning in hospice in Topeka. His wife, Martha, tells me he was at peace and that his last words were, seemingly out of nowhere, "Yes, yes."

I have no doubt whatsoever that means he wasn't "rejected" this time.

Rather, I know John accepted the Lord's invitation to join Him in a place where he will have the wind at his back, his sails crisply trimmed and his favorite beverage close at hand.

Go with God's Hand on your shoulder, my friend.

I await your laughter.

Thousands Dead Just Another Photo Op For Some

2010-01-15T08:25:00.000-08:00

The sight of Anderson Cooper blithely sitting on a pile of rubble in Haiti reporting on rescue efforts going on not two feet behind him turns my stomach.

Try that in this country, Andy, and somebody's liable to come upside your head with a brick. And deservedly so.

Yes, it's a disaster of monumental proportions and the networks need to, in their words, put a human face on it. But, just because you can get up close and personal because there are no authorities around to bust you for it doesn't mean you always need to do the casual campfire squat next to people working their ass off, or shove the lens of your camera literally into the face of a grieving father who has lost his family.

Good reporting is necessary but Haiti is a disaster, not a photo op. Cover it, don't lampoon it with silly live shots. A hand waving for help from under the ruins of a building tells the story so much better than anything that Andy Cooper can possibly say or do.

Lifetime Lockups for Sexual Predators

2010-01-12T10:19:00.000-08:00

Should rapists, pedophiles and the like be dropped into a black hole and forgotten about? I suspect most victims, cops and politicians would say yes.

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today challenging a federal law, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which does the next best thing.

The Walsh Act, along with statutes in twenty states, provide that convicted sex offenders who have served their time can be confined past their release date, usually in a mental health facilty. In other words, you do the crime, you serve your time...and then you serve more. Maybe a lot more. The extended commitment can be indefinite. Many offenders will be locked up for life. Not for what they've done...but for what they MIGHT do in the future.

Lawmakers acknowledge civil committments are expensive, perhaps three times the cost of prison, but they argue the program is designed to give serious sexual predators extended treatment and a shot at rehabilitation not available to them while serving their criminal sentence.

Those taking a more liberal view claim it "demonizes" predators.

What it really does is "incapacitate," them, in the words of law school dean Eric Janus, author of "Failure to Protect."

"Incapacitation" works for me. Let's come right out and say it. These are not likely candidates for rehabilitation. These are violent predators who will hurt more people if they are released from custody. Freedom for them should never be an option.

A "black hole?" Perhaps not. But civil commitment of sexual predators is the best we can do.

Let's hope the Supreme Court rules the Adam Walsh Act is constitutional.

Terminal Nakedness

2010-01-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

EPIC, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, has used a Freedom of Information request to discover that the body scanners TSA wants to deploy at airports can not only store images, but transmit them as well.

Naturally, TSA's public relations campaign promises passengers won't be at risk of having their electronically recorded nakedness displayed online for all to see. TSA counters EPIC by saying the machines' storage and transmittal functions will be disabled prior to shipment to the airports. I'm guessing that anyone with a twelve-year-old's computer expertise could hack in and change the settings. I suppose you'd need a twelve-year-old's mentality to think of doing it in the first place.

It's an interesting controversy. TSA says the devices will help them protect the traveling public. But should such a program be allowed to go forward if it raises concerns about personal privacy?

Would such an issue have been raised in the immediate wake of 9/11? Would it be raised in other countries, Israel for example, where terrorism is always a concern?

Questions to ponder.

Personally, I'd rather be scanned than sorry. Then again, having my naked image sent around the world without my approval could only help sell books.

Wes Clark Jr.(son of General Wesley Clark, the former Presidential candidate) may have the best idea of all. He suggests we all fly, "naked and unconscious with no baggage."

I accept that option only if airlines make the seats more comfortable.

Drinking, Disappearing and . . .Dying?

2009-12-22T15:57:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-07T11:03:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-04T14:59:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-03T07:53:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-25T09:47:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

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?

2009-11-06T18:53:00.000-08:00

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?

2009-10-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

"(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

2009-09-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-24T07:33:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-22T22:27:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-16T07:22:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-13T19:33:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-07-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-11T18:06:00.001-07:00

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?

2009-07-04T06:15:00.001-07:00

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.

2009-07-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-02T07:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

(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

2009-06-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-03T09:59:00.001-07:00

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?

2009-05-31T15:29:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-26T08:04:00.001-07:00

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?

2009-05-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-05-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

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.