Reps. Rangel and Waters in trouble!!!

Well we largely know about Rangel's troubles. I think I posted about his recently, he had to resign his chairmanship of the House Ways and Means committee this year. He could face an ethics trial as well, Democrats are calling for his resignation:

The calls for Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to resign are piling up as the congressman's ethics trial threatens to loom large over campaign season.

The tally of House Democrats calling on Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to resign his seat in Congress stood at eight as members adjourned for the August recess late Friday. That number includes Rep. Mike Arcuri (D-N.Y.), the first Democrat from Rangel's home state to call for his ouster.
 ...
And so far, every House Democrat who has called for Rangel's ouster faces a viable Republican challenger this fall.

The resignation calls began more than a week ago with Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio), who heads back to her district with the recognition of being the first House Democrat to call on Rangel to resign.

After Sutton, most House Democrats held their fire throughout the course of the week leading up to Thursday's ethics committee hearing. On Wednesday, Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho), who represents one of the most conservative districts in the nation, became the second Democrat to call for Rangel's resignation.

Minnick was followed by Reps. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio), John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) and Zack Space (D-Ohio).

"We've heard Charlie in the Ways and Means Committee, and he's addressed these charges. He never denied they happened. He always has an explanation. You can excuse one or two, but not 13," Yarmuth said in an interview with the Lousiville Courier-Journal.

I highly doubt that any member of the Congressional Black Caucus is calling for his ouster. They probably should and hopefully put up a candidate who can take over for Rangel if he may at worst be removed from Congress. Well perhaps I'm a little too optimistic here.

As for Maxine Waters from California:

A second House Democrat, Rep. Maxine Waters of California, could face an ethics trial this fall, further complicating the election outlook for the party as it battles to retain its majority.

People familiar with the investigation, who were not authorized to be quoted about charges before they are made public, say the allegations could be announced next week. The House ethics committee declined Friday to make any public statement on the matter.

Waters, 71, has been under investigation for a possible conflict of interest involving a bank that was seeking federal aid. Her husband owned stock in the bank and had served on its board.
...
Both Waters and Rangel are prominent members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the trials would be an embarrassment for the group. Dual ethics trials would also be a major political liability for Democrats, forcing them to defend their party's ethical conduct while trying to hold on to their House majority.

While Rangel is a former chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, Waters is a prominent member of the House Financial Services Committee.

Waters came under scrutiny after former Treasury Department officials said she helped arrange a meeting between regulators and executives at Boston-based OneUnited Bank without mentioning her husband's financial ties to the institution.

Her husband, Sidney Williams, held at least $250,000 in the bank's stock and previously had served on its board. Waters' spokesman has said Williams was no longer on the board when the meeting was arranged.

Waters has said the National Bankers Association, a trade group, requested the meeting. She defended her role in assisting minority-owned banks in the midst of the nation's financial meltdown and dismissed suggestions she used her influence to steer government aid to the bank.

"I am confident that as the investigation moves forward the panel will discover that there are no facts to support allegations that I have acted improperly," Waters said in a prior statement.

WOW!!!! This is an AP article and they make the connection! This would be a problem for the Congressional Black Caucus. I just hope that well they won't remain silent for long. Hopefully they'll come out forcefully and not merely just defend their two long time members.

The first article is via Instapundit!

Cops ID Suspect in 13-Year-Old's Murder

Robert Freeman (Tribune)

This is something isn't it. A 13-year-old boy shot 13 22 times by a thug. Even worse this is a case of mistaken identity and even worse than that, this brings heat onto the thug that committed the crime! Thankfully it appears we know who allegedly did this!

The picture at left is of 13-year-old Robert Freeman, click the picture for a Tribune photo gallery of this story.

The suspect in the shooting of a 13-year-old Roseland boy Wednesday may now have more to fear than just having the police on his tail.
...
A source told FOX Chicago that the intended target was another teen in the neighborhood who recently robbed some gang members on a street nearby.

The gunman was apparently trying to make a name for himself in after being paroled from prison in April.

The 20-year-old suspect had just finished serving one year of a three year sentence for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

Perphaps you've heard the term honor among thieves. Well, Police say the gang code gives the okay to kill someone as young as Freeman, just so long as you don't shoot he wrong person. By breaking that "honor code" the suspect made himself a target.
...
Chicago police now say Freeman was shot 13 times. The gunman stood over him in the street firing shots. Witnesses identified the suspect, but police did not have strong enough information to get an arrest warrant, so they were asking more witnesses to provide them information.

"The code of silence only helps the offenders, and it's just a matter of eluding justice for a short period of time. The most imprtant thing, we're asking the person involved in this homicide to come forward and turn themselves in," said Assitant Superintendent James Jackson.

Honor amongst thieves. It's OK to kill someone as young as Freeman, but can't just shoot the wrong person! At time mistaken identity has been the story of murder especially when it comes to crimes such as this.

What I'd like to know is what possessed this thug to shoot another person excessively like he did?

Back in the day, Black kids didn't think it was a crime to be young, gifted and black.

A column by John McWhorter an author who may well be identified by some as a conservative thinker. I don't have time to read the column this morning, but perhaps some of you might be interested. I may edit and expand on this post later, however. Via Instapundit!

Judge Blocks Parts Of Arizona Immigration Law

Well I know people who are upset about this law is happy about this outcome!

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the most controversial parts of Arizona's immigration law from taking effect, delivering a last-minute victory to opponents of the crackdown.

The overall law will still take effect Thursday, but without the provisions that angered opponents — including sections that required officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws.

The judge also put on hold parts of the law that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times, and made it illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ruled that the controversial sections should be put on hold until the courts resolve the issues.

The ruling came just as police were making last-minute preparations to begin enforcement of the law at 12:01 a.m. Thursday and protesters were planning a large demonstrations to speak out against the measure. At least one group planned to block access to federal offices, daring officers to ask them their immigration status.

Hmmmm, the paragraph I placed in bold. Well that shouldn't be unreasonable. We are expected to carry some form of ID with us right. So immigrants should carry some type of documents with them. How is that really a problem?

Via Drudge! 

Black, Green and Dangerous For Dems

From Charles Thomas at his Precinct7 blog:

For Illinois democrats trying to hold on to the U.S. Senate seat up for grabs in the 2010 general election, the emergence of LeAlan Jones is up there near the top on the list of "worst things that could happen".
...
Jones is the Green Party's nominee.  And with so much voter anger and frustration aimed at the major parties, that alone would be enough to make him a factor in the race.

But he's also an African-American who wants to replace the only black member of the Senate, Roland Burris, who was appointed to take the seat vacated by President Barack Obama, who was the only elected black person in the chamber until 2008.

With white male major party nominees in Illinois--democrat Alexi Giannoulias and republican Mark Kirk--many black folks here and around the country are distressed and even outraged by the likelihood that the U.S. Senate will revert to its usual count of zero African-Americans.

And many of those black voters might express those feelings on November 2nd with a vote for Jones.

In fact, a June Public Policy Polling survey suggested Jones was favored by 14% of the electorate during a poll of 552 Illinois voters.

And what perhaps is most important about the survey is that Jones' showing means he should be invited to participate in the televised debates.   Black voters, in particular, who do not know an African-American is on the ballot will realize as much after they see and hear the young, articulate black man standing alongside Kirk and Giannoulias.

Giannoulias, whose democratic party relies on the usually dependable and heavy African-American vote, has the most at risk.  That's why, sources say, democratic party operatives are reaching out to Jones, who will not confirm or deny that such contacts have been made.

I think I can understand it somewhat both major party candidates for US Senate are evenly matched. One can't help but stretch the truth on his military service. The other has an unfortunate association with his family owned bank which was taken over by the feds.

This election is depressing no one seems able to break out of the pack. And the polls are going back and forth because both of these individuals just having nothing that makes them wildly electable.

BTW, the man who they're replacing may be forced to vacate the seat. A federal judge has all but ordered a special election  for that senate seat. The seat Giannoulias and Kirk are running for is currently held by Roland Burris and was the seat that catapulted Barack Obama to the Presidency.

I can always look at it this way, in an eagerness to insure that a black is sitting in a US Senate seat a corrupt governor appoints a black and it quickly becomes a racial issue. The Democratic majority in the state backs off so as to not anger an important voting block and drops a special election because they want another Democrat to win. Two blacks run in the primary one each in both major parties and both lost. So blacks would have to suck it up and vote for two white men in the general election anyway.

If this was about a Black Senator we've lost this race anyway. Especially since the appointed Black Senator wasn't able to mount a bid to retain the seat and other Black candidates were unable to break out of primaries. And the only other choice is a third party candidate who also is Black, but that's not likely to happen because he's not a Democrat.

Wow 2010 is turning into something else in Illinois isn't it?

Documentary: Runaway Slave

Don't let the title fool you. This is in the modern day, a story about Black Conservatives in American. It looks like something to watch when it's available. According to the website @ http://www.runawayslavemovie.com/ this film is coming in 2011.

I've got to disagree with the Pastor CL Bryant. I don't believe the Constitution guarantees our rights, but I do believe in the idea of natural rights. Our rights as enshrined in our Constitution are rights that can't merely be provided to us by a human document. Our Constitution was written by humans and unfortunately they can be taken away by humans. I would say you can interpret natural rights as those given to us by a higher power.

Either way I hope you look at this video and by 2011 we should have something to watch.

Oh yeah, one other thing. We hear a lot of things about how Blacks grew to join the Democratic camp. For some it started with Roosevelt's New Deal and as mentioned in the video the trend started during the 1960s Civil Rights movement. For the sake of discussion if Blacks were to change their devotion to the Democratic Party and the Progressive ideas that exist within, it's safe to say that this could take a generation or two.

To be sure, I'm not certain it will happen. Then again one could be surprised.

Via Chicago News Bench!

The Young and Jobless : New evidence that the minimum wage has hurt teenage workers.

I wanted to blog about this yesterday, however, when I attempted to access this WSJ article yesterday it was listed for subscribers only. I can't afford or am unwilling to subscribe so all that can be done is to rely on the excerpt from Newsalert!

Today marks the first anniversary of Congress's decision to raise the federal minimum wage by 41% to $7.25 an hour. But hold the confetti. According to a new study, more than 100,000 fewer teens are employed today due to the wage hikes.

Economic slowdowns are tough on many job-seekers, but they're especially hard on the young and inexperienced, whose job prospects have suffered tremendously from Washington's ill-advised attempts to put a floor under wages. In a new paper published by the Employment Policies Institute, labor economists William Even of Miami University in Ohio and David Macpherson of Trinity University in Texas find a significant drop in teen employment as a direct result of the minimum wage hikes.

The wage hikes were implemented in three stages between 2007 and 2009, and not all states were affected because some already mandated a minimum wage above the federal requirement. But for the 19 states affected by all three stages of the federal wage increase, "there was a 6.9% decline in employment for teens aged 16 to 19," write the authors. And for those who had not completed high school, "we estimated that the hikes reduced employment by 12.4%," which translates to about 98,000 fewer teens in the work force.

You know Chicago was rocked by violence during the past week. See we had nothing but stories about a Police Officer killed as he was wiping down his new vehicle that he had bought for his retirement. Apparently three teens had targeted him and even worse he was in his police uniform. See he had just gotten off of work and his job was as bodyguard to the Mayor of Chicago. You know three teenaged thugs would think this was a good idea. I can't imagine more seasoned criminals would want to do something like this but then who knows.

Another issue worth thinking about in connection with this. Well it seems Chicago is poised to approve another Wal-Mart in the city. One was already approved in June for another depressed area of the city, but before that one hit the agenda there was one already proposed in a less-depressed area. Even better this store will be ready to go sooner than in the more depressed part of the city. Yet during a city council committee debate one city Alderman still had a problem with how much he believe Wal-Mart paid their workers.

My point. I remember once that I brushed off an Alderman who said that if there are no jobs then people are more apt to commit street crimes. My belief on that issue is to say those who do good will keep looking for work and hopefully avoid the illegal. At the same time idle minds can never be a good thing if being unemployed and not having any other prospects of finding employment causes you to do some acts you wouldn't otherwise do.

I wonder about those teenagers who think it's OK to kill a cop for his automobile. What prospects did they imagine for the future.

At the same time continuing this debate in the city over whether or not Wal-Mart pay their workers enough I can only imagine that will cost the city the jobs that is being projected. Not all the workers they hire would be worth that extra arbitrary wage they insist should be paid.

Flogging Breitbart & the Sherrod Charade

Alfonso talks about the whole Breitbart/Sherrod story that I hinted at a few posts ago. He makes a very surprising observation, Hannity is too naive to talk about race.

Hmmm sometimes conservatives are naive on this issue. Although maybe I have heard a lot about what black folks think about race. It will be harsher than perhaps what whites think of race. To be sure I had a problem with people continuing to bring up Jeremiah Wright and his church. There are those who took issue with his afrocentric motif. I largely have been ingrained with it and it doesn't bother me.

Even if I suppose it largely doesn't even include considering yourself an American and celebrating decidedly American values. To be sure Rev. Wrights words can be incendiary, however, they come from somewhere. If you may feel that Blacks have a different view on life in America, it's certainly because many have lived through the worst of times.

Some may even feel like America isn't adequately addressing Black issues whatever they may be or how they think they should be addressed. Either way I'm saying conservatives may well be equally willing to reject some aspects of "Black culture". And sadly Blacks may well reject the greater American culture, even if American culture takes up some aspects of "Black culture".

Anyway, I really would like to know why Alfonso thinks Hannity is naieve on the issue of race? Or if there are other conservatives who are found wanting on the issue of race?

Charlie Rangel Is Toast

Well, what's up with that?

Charlie Rangel, oleaginous octogenarian extraordinaire, put on a press conference at lunchtime on Friday that was such a master class in shifty-eyed flimflam that no one who watched it can have left its Harlem venue (or their TV screens) unconvinced that he is, by some great distance, the most knavish congressman in Washington.
There can be little doubt that Rangel—who has served a mind-boggling, and, for those concerned with standards of official conduct, depressing, 20 terms—is not going to be able to run for a 21st term. His career is now over.

I predict that he will resign by, or on, Thursday of next week, the day on which the House Ethics Committee lays formal charges against him, charges which—if he contests them—will go to public trial. (The charges are, by now, so well known that they scarcely bear repeating: undeclared taxes on income from a beachfront villa in the Dominican Republic; the securing of four luxury apartments at a heftily subsidized rent; and the granting of lucrative favors to a donor. Read a detailed account here. (Rangel has, predictably enough, protested his innocence all along.)

This is worth your time, but I don't have time to read the whole thing. I do plan to read it however. This is a rather surprising development to be sure.

Via Instapundit!

ALSO, I want you to note a video I posted here last year about Evan Coyne Maloney talking to Harlem, NY residents.

What about Shirley Sherrod

Been a while since we've heard from this Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion. He was all over the Blago saga when it started with his arrest and eventual removal from office. Unsure if he had actually followed the federal trial where Blago's defense team rested their case.

Today he discusses (link via Instapundit) another political matter on a more federal scale. A US Dept. of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod was caught on tape relaying a story about how she didn't lift a finger to help a white farmer who was on the verge of losing his farm.

She became part of the saga between the left (or liberals or progressives) and the tea party crowd. Elements on the left wing wants to demonized the tea party as a group of racists. Unfortunately there is scant proof other than maybe one video of a "proud racist" attending a tea party rally. The video I saw on Glenn Beck showed him being berated by "teabaggers". In other words they didn't share this "gentleman's" racist values.

Still because they are opposed to our President, they are racist. They hold points of view that they disagree with and therefore that makes the tea party racist. I mean they're not saying anything different than what has been said about right-wingers (or conservatives) over the years.

Anyway because she was caught on tape talking about what happened over 20 years ago while she was at an NAACP event. She gets outed by Andrew Breitbart who said on Hannity that he had info about this tape in this emails since the spring.

I heard she was fired from her job, but in a press conference today was offered a job by the Secretary of Agriculture. Although she wasn't offered her original position. She was thrown under a bus only to still have a job with that agency.

Wow! What a hot potato!

BONUS: Zack Isaacs talks about this story as well with the accompanying video of Sherrod.

Electoral College Obsolete?

Megan Kelly and Michael Reagan, son of the 40th President Ronald Reagan, was discussing the National Popular Vote proposal that is being considered by several states. It was considered in Illinois a few years ago and was enacted in this state in 2008.

I've written about this before. This is perhaps the gasp of those individuals who were still upset about the defeat of former Vice President Al Gore at the polls in 2000. He won the popular vote, but wasn't enough because in this Republic the electoral votes count. Every state has an electoral vote and different rules as to how to distribute those votes. For the most part however most states have winner take all, that is whoever wins the popular vote in a particular state also wins all of those electoral votes.

This proposal however mandates that whoever wins the national popular vote will be awarded the electoral votes of a particular state. Michael Reagan argues in this clip that this will leave the smaller states without a voice in Presidential politics. One argument for the electoral college is that this will allow states a say (regardless of population that is) in who will be elected President.

What say you in the meanwhile?

Who wants to be mayor?

First Charles Thomas at ABC7 takes issue with the listing of aspiring mayoral candidate's race:

The Trib and Sun-Times reporters listed possible candidates including White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman, Cook County Assessor James Houlihan and Sheriff Tom Dart. From the ranks of Aldermen they mentioned Scott Waguespack (32nd), Robert Fioretti (2nd), Tom Allen (38th), Tom Tunney (44th) and Sandi Jackson (7th).

Sandi Jackson?

Mrs. Jackson, the wife of Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and the only female or minority possibility mentioned, is nearing the end of her first term and according to sources in her ward is no cinch for re-election. She's considered a "back bencher" on the city council and during the winter campaign, can expect a serious controversy over whether she lives in South Shore or Washington, D.C.. And to make matters worse, her husband (once considered a mayoral hopeful) is embroiled in the Rod Blagojevich corruption case.

So howizzit that my colleagues at the city's two largest daily newspapers listed all those white males in their stories when considering who might run for mayor in 2011? If you believe the most generous count of the city's white population (40%), then the "pool" from which the reporters chose includes only 20% of the people living in Chicago.

Are the Trib/Sun-Times scribes saying they don't consider any blacks or latinos or females (besides Alderman Jackson) as viable possible candidates in a city where people of those ethnicities comprise an overwhelming majority?

For the record: There are many people of color and women qualified to run Chicago and capable of winning a citywide election for mayor.

Yes! Surely there are other candidates who are either black, latin, or a woman who are capable of running for mayor.

Perhaps other than a bias in the Chicago media, there isn't anyone else out there who is willing to step forward who are latin, women, or black to run for Mayor if not against Mayor Daley. In the past one of those candidates could've been Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. sadly he may have blown his chance in 2007 when he chose not to run. And by the end of the next year after that he became part of the Blagojevich scandal.

Reputedly, he was Candidate no. 5 who was very willing to raise some funds for Blagojevich during his scheme to milk Obama's old Senate seat for his own personal gain. Because of this connection although I'm not entirely sure Jackson didn't do anything wrong the association with Blagojevich has hurt him enough where he may never advance beyond his Congressional seat. Not sure what it says for his wife, however.

You know it also isn't often that there are Aldermanic aspirants for Mayor at least in my memory. I'm sure there were in the past, but at least not since Daley has been mayor. Well at least since I paid some attention to municipal contests starting in 1995.

Freshman Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) said Friday he’s seriously considering running for mayor — whether or not Mayor Daley seeks a seventh term — because he’s fed up with the corruption, waste and mismanagement that have dogged the Daley era.
...
Waguespack was one of five aldermen who dared to oppose that sale of Chicago parking meters, which turned into a political albatross for Daley after meter rates soared and meters broke down.

Waguespack said themeter deal “epitomizes” the management style he’s determined to stop. “It bases our whole budget on the leasing of public assets. It doesn’t have a long-term vision. We need a fresh, new vision that works for future generations.”

Pointing to the Hired Truck, city hiring and minority contracting scandals and the steady drumbeat of contract cronyism, Waguespack said, “People are fed up. They’re tired of the old way. Their pocketbooks are tired of the corruption and waste. The bad economy has exposed the weakness of his style of business.”

Waguespack entered the city council the same year as Sandi Jackson and Scott Robert Fioretti who is also listed as being interested in running for Mayor. Wauguespack however is the first to announce his intention. Let's see how serious he is when time marches forward.

BTW, I do have to note that Waguespack did pay a visit to the South Side as documented by Syron Smith back in late April!

Perhaps an indication of his strategy if he was to make his move!

Special election for Obama's old Senate Seat

I've been wanting to post about this for a while. Last month, Chicagoist floated the idea of a special election held to fill the remaining time on Obama's old US Senate Seat. This seat is currently held by former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris.

You know this would be great if this has been fought for when this controversy first came up. Burris is already busted up for taking this seat from Ousted governor who is currently on trial for amongst other charges attempting to auction off a US Senate seat. There was a lot of hot air about not letting Burris get seated and I'm sure he really wanted it and wasn't giving it up easily. Ultimately the ones who insisted he not be seated backed off anyway!

While I didn't support his appointment back then I've had no problem with him just serving out the remaining time of his term. He was appointed in Dec. 2008 and was seated in January 2009, just before Obama's Presidential inauguration. Now people still seek to get him out of there!

You know what brought this to mind? Rich Miller wrote about this story last Friday. Burris would run in a special election so that he could finish Obama's Senate term. Not sure how I would feel about that given the fact that he had trouble to mount a bid to serve a full six years in the US Senate enough to not run for a full term this year.

Either way if there is to be a special election for even the last few months of this Senate term Burris should run. Not sure if winning this election would bring Burris back some respect in the political community, but for a guy with great historical significance to Blacks and the state of Illinois (he was the first Black to win statewide office) one last victory couldn't hurt. One could speculate what would've been had he not been so eager to take an appointment from such a reviled figure as Rod Blagojevich.

How might life be after Mayor Richard M. Daley???

 

So how would it be? Would you have imagined at this time four years ago that Mayor Daley would have poll numbers such as what you would see in this story?

More than half of Chicago voters say they don't want to see Mayor Richard Daley re-elected next year should he decide to run for a record seventh term, a new Tribune/WGN poll shows.

The mayor has been buffeted by a spate of summer violence, a weak economy and a high-profile failure to land the 2016 Olympics. Dissatisfaction abounds, the survey found, over Daley's handling of the crime problem, his efforts to rein in government corruption and his backing of a controversial long-term parking meter system lease.

As a result, the poll found only 37 percent of city voters approve of the job Daley is doing as mayor, compared with 47 percent who disapprove. Moreover, a record-low 31 percent said they want to see Daley re-elected, compared with 53 percent who don't want him to win another term.

Still, city voters like the mayor's pushes for more Wal-Mart stores and banning handguns, and Daley remains popular in the suburbs.

On Saturday, Daley said he didn't know why his poll numbers have fallen.

"Everybody's worried about polls in the United States, and all politicians worry about polls," Daley said at an anti-violence rally on the South Side. "They should worry about their actions...You have to be passionate about your job. There's ups and downs."

Daley's long tenure in office — he was first elected in 1989 — also may have led to a fatigue factor among many city voters looking for change. Despite Daley's unpopularity, no credible challenger has surfaced for a primary election that's seven months away.

And you know, if there are challengers to Mayor Daley next year, let's bet money that the ones who could be mayor won't run against him. Yeah this is a challenging environment for him, however, it's hard for me to say he can't win a seventh term. 2011 might be a huge surprise to me if Daley runs again and he finds himself turned out of office.

BTW, the video above was attached to this Tribune article. When I played it I got an ad for California's gubernatorial race. I know the Tribune Company owns a paper or two out there, but they may want to target that ad towards California voters not just anyone who clicks a piece of media anywhere.

Another unsolved murder

This murder was of a much younger girl than the other young lady I posted about within the last two months.

Zack Issacs posted this video on YouTube last week about a vigil for Mya Lyons who was murdered two years ago. Unfortunately her murderer was never caught!

OK this is another murder that was publicized but has largely been forgotten. I posted about Kekah in May because the post about her murder still gets the comments.

Not as many comments for Mya, unfortunately. Although there hasn't been a lot of coverage for Mya, I had done one post in 2009 about a video with regards to her. This video was produced by a friend of Mr. Isaacs, Chicago community organizer Syron Smith.

Ah, we need to get some attention for both of these young girls. So that we can put their murders on course to closure. Hopefully there will be answers for their respective families!

Merc trader buys closed Esquire Theater

You know I would love to attend a show at a revitalized Esquire assuming that re-opening this movie house is in the plans of the new owners:

A Chicago trader has acquired the Esquire Theater on Oak Street, reviving hope that the long vacant property will be redeveloped into a luxury shopping complex, the Chicago Tribune has learned.

Don Wilson Jr., owner of Chicago-based DRW Holdings LLC, has quietly been buying the retail properties of financially strapped M Development LLC, the real estate firm of Chicago developer Mark Hunt, according to records filed with Cook County and Illinois.Among the prominent properties now under the Chicago Mercantile Exchange trader’s control is the Esquire Theater and adjacent lot along the high-end shopping street, stretching from 58 to 104 E. Oak St.

Efforts to redevelop the historic Gold Coast movie house have stalled since the theater shut down in September 2006. M Development had plans, created at the height of the real estate boom, to demolish the theater and build a boutique hotel and luxury shops.  That never happened.

After failing to receive zoning permission from the city to build the 10-story hotel, M Development revised the plan in 2008 to build a three-story luxury shopping complex.  That project stalled as well amid the global economic crisis and drop in luxury spending.

The building has been empty in the middle of the one-block strip for almost four years, contributing to the high vacancy on the internationally recognized street that is home to designer stores including Harry Winston, Hermes, Prada and Jimmy Choo.

Check out the comments. I think there might be a lot of support for re-opening the Esquire as a movie house.

BTW, I wish they could re-open McClurg Court. Although there is an AMC not far from there. McClurg Court was where I saw Mississippi Burning many years ago!

Louis Farrakhan sends letter asking Jews for reparations

I wonder what it is with regards to Farrakhan and the Jews. Where did this come from?

Last month, Louis Farrakhan, the “National Representative of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam,” sent a three-page letter to the leaders of 16 major Jewish organizations demanding reparations for alleged crimes Jews have perpetrated against African Americans.

Along with the letter, Farrakhan sent two books, “The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews” and “Jews Selling Blacks: Slave Trade by American Jews,” written by unidentified members of the Nation of Islam’s Historical Research Team. Elijah Muhammad’s National Representative claims that the books contain evidence of Jewish crimes against the black community.

“We can now present to our people and the world a true, undeniable record of the relationship between Blacks and Jews from their own mouths and pens,” the letter reads. “These scholars, Rabbis and historians have given to us an undeniable record of Jewish anti-Black behavior, starting with the horror of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, plantation slavery, Jim Crow, sharecropping, the labor movement of the North and South, the unions and the misuse of our people that continues to this very moment.”

The written diatribe continues with the Farrakhan proclaiming, “We could charge you [Jews] with being the most deceitful so-called friend, while your history with us shows you have been our worst enemy.”

Farrakhan graciously, however, provides Jewish leaders with a means for redemption: “This is an offer asking you and the gentiles whom you influence to help me in the repair of my people from the damage that has been done by your ancestors to mine. This is a wonderful way of the present generation of Jews to escape the Judgment of Allah (God) by aiding in the repair of His people.”

Of course, if they fail to bend to his wishes, Farrakhan “respectfully warns,” “in the Name of Allah (God) and His Messiah, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, that the more you fight and oppose me rather than help me to lift my people from their degraded state, Allah (God) and His Messiah will bring you and your people to disgrace and ruin and destroy your power and influence here and throughout the world.”

Despite Farrakhan’s offered path to redemption, Jewish leaders didn’t take the letter well.

In reading the rest of this article I will refer you to this earlier post. I think I have been slow on this one, but it only proves what most of us already know, Louis Farrakhan is not afraid to stir up controversy. To be sure I would like one answer as to why he wants to point his finger at America's Jewish population.

Article via Instapundit!

Allerton Hotel put up for sale

Hey I took a mobile phone picture of this place yesterday. Hadn't thought of it in years in fact, but I knew it was the place to be years back. Not sure if it still is or at least I don't hear about it.

Story from Crain's:

The New York investment firm that recently took over the Allerton Hotel has put the property back on the market, the latest twist in the battle to control the Michigan Avenue landmark.

Petra Capital Management LLC, which took ownership of the Allerton after an auction in late June, has hired Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman to solicit buyers for the 443-room hotel, confirms Mark Gordon, executive vice-president, principal and head of the New York brokerage’s U.S. lodging group.

“We’re going to be marketing through the month of July, and we anticipate an aggressive transaction,” he says.

Mr. Gordon declines to discuss pricing, but a person familiar with the property says Petra is hoping to sell the Allerton for $79 million to $80 million, not much less than the $84 million that the previous owner, San Francisco-based Chartres Lodging Group LLC, paid for it at the peak of the market in 2006.

The price will determine whether Petra, the hotel’s former junior lender, can recoup its investment and avoid a legal confrontation with DiamondRock Hospitality Co., a Maryland-based real estate investment trust that bought the senior loan on the Allerton in May.
...
The Allerton does have one advantage: Because it’s not part of a big chain, the hotel offers buyers the opportunity to own a prominent property outright, rebrand it and sign a management agreement with a major hotel operator.
“I can’t remember the last time a North Michigan Avenue hotel has been available fee simple and unencumbered by management and franchise agreements,” Mr. Gordon says.

What ritzy hotel brand might be interested in having a place right off the "Magnificent Mile" and right up the street is the Drake Hotel as well.

I just saw the Wiki article on The Allerton. Tip, Top, Tap was for the lounge that was closed in 1961.

Capitol Fax on Cedra Crenshaw

In today's post entitled: Time to tone it down

Rich Miller has a problem with the racial rhetoric. Crenshaw was the Republican candidate for state senate in the 43rd Senate District until she was knocked off the ballot in a partisan electoral board vote. So far Crenshaw has framed this story in terms of the Chicago Democratic machine afraid of her because she's a conservative Black mother.

Miller says that Crenshaw has made some over the top statements such as claiming that Chicago Democrats are being denied the right to vote. He corrects that notion by saying that voters are in fact being denied a choice. He also notes that another independent challenger was removed from the ballot thanks to an objection by Crenshaw herself.

You know, I just have to say this woman has some fire. Yeah this district is predominantly Democrat, but the way she's fighting, I think she shouldn't be underestimated if she was on the ballot. I mean Miller notes not only the local media attention she has received, but national as well. I mean she is aligned with the tea party movement.

At that there are charges that the tea party movement is racist for rather simple reasons even if not based upon even more solid evidence. I will refer you to this article, "Is the Tea Party Racist?" (via Instapundit), if you want to know what I mean.

Anyway it is also noted by Miller that in being eager to eliminate any possible opponents all the Democrats did was open themselves up to a PR nightmare. Like he said already this story is already gaining traction not only locally but nationally. I did post an ad by Crenshaw really trying to rally support for her cause earlier this week.

Miller notes that:

The Republicans are pretty sure they’ll win this on appeal. They may be right, but the red-hot racial rhetoric and the mindless Tribune rants really need to be toned down in the meantime. The Democrats didn’t challenge Crenshaw’s petitions because she was black, they challenged the petitions because she’s a Republican. Period.

You know in the interest of never being a fan of the race card I will say that Miller is correct this was nothing more than a partisan challenge. I do believe however that there are those who don't like the idea of a Black conservative, but yeah this can be seen as nothing more than a partisan challenge. The incumbent didn't want any competition even if this competition only managed between 1% or 10% of the vote.

At the same time the damage is done thanks to the loudness of Crenshaw's protests.

Farrakhan: "an undeniable record of Jewish anti-black behavior"

Russ Stewart tackles a number of issues from his July 7th column which talks about the Cook County assessor race, Scott Cohen's independent run for Governor, the issue of gun control in Chicago, and Blago's corruption trial. Here's what he said about that apparent quote from Louis Farrakhan the leader of the Nation of Islam:

There is "an undeniable record of Jewish anti-black behavior," said Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, who has long supported a Palestinian state. Farrakhan demands "repair of my people from the damage," which presumably means monetary reparations.

America has the world's largest Jewish population, approximately 5.7 million, which exceeds Israel's population of 4.7 million. According to the 2000 census, there were about 1,970,000 Jews in the New York area, 265,000 around Chicago, 630,000 around Los Angeles and 355,000 in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. Jews are about 2 percent of the total U.S. voter pool, or roughly 3 million.

The Jewish vote has been rock-ribbed Democratic for almost a century. Republican Dwight Eisenhower got 40 percent of the Jewish vote in 1956, and Ronald Reagan got 36 percent in 1984, but Bill Clinton won 80 percent, Al Gore got 79 percent and John Kerry got 76 percent, and in the 2008 election, 75 percent of Jewish voters supported Barack Obama over John McCain.

Despite the fact that the median income of a Jewish household is $53,300, much higher than the $39,500 average of the U.S. population, Jews tend to vote their culture over their economic status. They are suspicious of concentrated power, sympathetic toward disadvantaged minorities -- which they perceive they once were -- and supportive of government attempts to redistribute wealth.

Alcee Hastings, a black Democratic congressman from Florida, observed that there is a "nexus between Jews and blacks by virtue of the Holocaust and by virtue of slavery which, independent of each other, were horrible events" and which created a bond.

So where is Farrakhan's "anti-black behavior?" African Americans should vocally repudiate this pernicious lie.

There is a segment who would probably listen to this and believe the statement than to repudiate it as a lie. I almost wonder where these ideas come from.

Perhaps if you believe the very first paragraph, this could be based on Farrakhan's support for a Palestinian state. It seems at times that support for a Palestinian state also means the destruction of Israel.

Lee Bey: The Eye opens on State Street

I took this picture earlier this month. This eyeball was at Pritzker Park on Van Buren & State. Thanks to Lee Bey, we know more about this object:

The three-story steel reinforced fiberglass eye sculpture–called, appropriately enough, “Eye”–debuted this week at downtown’s Pritzker Park.


The work is by Oak Park artist Tony Tasset and is actually modeled after one of his own eyeball. Produced by the Chicago Loop Alliance, the giant unblinking blue eye, veins and all,  will be joined by Tasset’s companion piece, “Cardinal”,which is 156 street banners along State Street featuring the state bird. The banners are designed to flutter like a flipbook, giving the illusion of the Cardinal flying down State Street from Congress to Wacker.

I like the “Eye.” It’s a commentary on our Age, if you ask me. Security cameras, cellphone cams, red light cameras, youtube videos—we are all watched as we watch. Life is increasingly like that brilliant “everybody’s gotta watch everybody else” scene in “Casino”. That and I was fascinated by the detail Tasset was enable to incorporate. The longer you look at it, the more details you can find.

Well Bey came to a much deeper meaning about this piece than I did. My thoughts on this is that it was something different and didn't think much about it with regards to symbolism. You know, this thing has become an instant hit since Bey wasn't the only one who has been taking photos of it.

American Recovery Act sign

Located off the Dan Ryan at 75th St. This is what Marathon Pundit would refer to as Obama campaign signs.

New immigration blog I found

Well not by me since basically I don't really follow this issue very closely. But there are those of you who are interested enough in this issue to learn more about it.

http://unreceivedwisdom.wordpress.com/

Give it a read, offer your thoughts and go from there!

I would like to recommend this post where he bounced of a story from the Capitol Fax with regards to Gov. Quinn and Sen. Bill Brady and their positions on immigration. In addition to who are the illegals in Illinois. I think it's a good read in any event!

So I watched this video last night via Newsalert and it seemed like an impassioned please from Cedra Crenshaw who is running for State Senate as Republican. She's running against incumbent Senate AJ Wilhemi. This election from what I have seen of it has been framed as a battle against the influence in suburban Will County of Chicago's Democratic Machine.

To be honest I haven't really followed this race, but I know bits of news are out there about Crenshaw fighting to stay on the ballot. You can hear in that video that she has been successfully kicked off the ballot. Apparently the Democratic machine wants to keep their man in!

Having opponents kicked off the ballot is apparently a time honored tactic in Chicago. If you can keep your opponent from even running against you whether or not they can beat you then you will have insured that you're the only choice on the ballot. It happens all too often here and even worse even the current President of the United States benefited from this practice.

In any event I could also frame this event as people still intimidated by a "non-traditional" Republican such as Crenshaw who is a wife and mother and apparently a tea-party favorite. She's also an accountant, but I'll bet money that if she ran in Chicago and in a predominantly minority district she could be in worse shape. Out there in Will County she may have a chance in the city the establishment and the voters will likely give her a really hard time even if she successfully stayed on the ballot.

Either way I do wish her luck as she continues her bid to stay on the ballot!

Change in selection of Lt. Governor candidates

While this was a law that was recently signed isn't a constitutional amendment necessary to change this?

Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation on Saturday that requires candidates of the same party to be nominated jointly instead of letting voters pick each nominee separately.

Under the new law, a gubernatorial candidate would select a running mate for the primary election. Voters would either support the pair or reject them over a different team.

The change comes after Illinois Democrats were embarrassed in this year's primary election. Scott Lee Cohen was the nominee for lieutenant governor who had been arrested previously for domestic violence. He was soon pressured into dropping out of the race.

The new law will go into effect on Jan. 1.

I wonder how it even came to be that voters individually selected both the gubernatorial nominee and Lt. Governor nominee? If I recall correctly once upon a time the Gov & Lt. Gov candidates were elected separately in a general election. The at some point the the candidates were nominated separately in a primary, then forced to run as a ticket in the general election. I'm sure the point of this was to insure that both the top two executive officers of Illinois were of the same party, but I'll bet money that this wasn't thought out very well for some reason.

BTW, I wonder how that legislation (or amendment) to eliminate the Lt. Gov. position is going. To be sure I still don't support elimination.

Oh yeah this article was the set-up for today's CapFax question of the day. The question is who should Gov. Quinn and State Sen. Bill Brady have selected for Lt. Governor if they could do it all over again?

ALSO, I posted my question in the comments at CapFax and I got a response:

No, this does not require a Constitutional Amendment. This law changes the election code, which is what lays out the guidelines how nominees are chosen.

Here's another explanation:

Article V.4 of the IL constitution specifically gives the legislature the power to require the two to run together as a team. It amazes me that this wasn’t put into effect after the 1986 debacle with the Fairchild LG candidacy. 

Well I think that shall do it for today's civics lesson!

Crossposted @ Mechanics & Illinoize (for the first time in a long while!)

Jesse Jackson: Cavs owner sees James as 'runaway slave'

As outspoken as ever Rev. Jackson is:

Jesse Jackson says the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers sees LeBron James as a "runaway slave" and that the owner's comments after the NBA forward decided to join the Miami Heat put the player in danger.

Shortly after James announced his decision last week, Dan Gilbert fired off an incendiary letter to Cleveland's fans, ripping the 25-year-old and promising to deliver a title before James wins one. He called James' decision "cowardly" and later told The Associated Press he believes James quit during a handful of Cavaliers playoff games.

"He has gotten a free pass," Gilbert told the AP in a phone interview late Thursday night. "People have covered up for (James) for way too long. Tonight we saw who he really is."

Jackson said Gilbert's comments were "mean, arrogant and presumptuous."

"He speaks as an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers," the reverend said in a release from his Chicago-based civil rights group, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. "His feelings of betrayal personify a slave master mentality. He sees LeBron as a runaway slave. This is an owner employee relationship -- between business partners -- and LeBron honoured his contract."

This is not only incendiary, I think people will really hate LeBron because now Jesse Jackson is bringing racial language into this story. I wonder if Jackson reads the sports pages enough to know that people were tired of the LeBron James spectacle?

Got to talk about my new BlackBerry 9700

I finally bit the bullet and bought that BlackBerry I wanted. I bought what I believed the most current phone I could find.

Well obviously there are some limitations to doing some of the things I do on  PC on a mobile phone. Some sights including my Blogger blogs aren't conducive to being accessed on the BlackBerry Bold 9700. Although some plusses is that I saved bookmarks to those sites that I know I would use especially local news sites, social networks, and even transit information.

I can check the radar and current weather conditions on the go. If I have any pictures I want to share on various social networking sites it's with better ease than with my previous phone. Especially if I can access those sites with applications or directly on the mobile versions of such sites.

The camera function I would like to play with a lot more. Even better there is a little card where the photos or video can be stored upon in addition to storing them directly onto the phone. At least that will save me the trouble of deleted images just to have space on the phone. Hopefully with a USB wire I can connect the phone to a computer and upload any pictures off of the phone to be saved elsewhere.

With this phone I got a Bluetooth Headset with it well the AT&T store wanted me to get some accessories with it, but it only increased the amount I was going to pay. If I got these accessories separately it might costs more, but then I didn't really care much about that. Especially if all I really cared about was a decent case to carry my phone in.

Anyway for the first time I decided to utilize the Motorola H270 Bluetooth device (picture at right) that came with my purchase. I don't necessarily like the design but it seems simple enough to use. I connected it to my phone with ease, but using voice recognition is going to take some work. And I got to get used to all the buttons as well.

Also, the voice recognition aspect of this device is going to take some getting used to. Once or twice the phone almost dialed an unintended number when attempting to place a call. I don't know if it has trouble with my own voice or there's just something wrong with that device.

Either way I'm very happy about the purchase. And with that memory card attached to it, I just got to say I may not have to carry a camcorder or a digital camera. It's still possible that a camcorder or camera will be a part of my equipment when I am waking about. ;)

1969 Pontiac Ventura Being Restored

Artistmac from Chicago is back and this is his 2nd video about a classic Pontiac being restored by a local mechanic who specializes in restoring old GM vehicles. An earlier video featured a 1969 Pontiac Firebird 400. He also has shown videos of his 1984 Pontiac Fiero that he has taken to that local mechanic when he needs to fix it up.

Here are his comments with regards to today's GM vehicles:

Take note, GM. 40 years from now, will people be taking the time and energy to restore CTS's, Lucernes and FWD Impalas to their original condition? Doubtful.

Here's a gem from your glorious past, being restored by Chicago mechanic Dave Armstrong. This '69 Ventura (a trim package on the Catalina) spent almost all of its life in Palm Springs. That brown coating you see on the rear undercarriage and differential isn't rust -- it's sand. When it's power-washed, it'll look as clean as the underside from the differential forward.

It's great to see the front end without the fenders, showing off that 428 V8, disc brakes and front suspension in all their glory.

As you can see, that's the original Harrison air conditioning unit. Black Morrokide upholstery and Pontiac 5-spoke mag wheels will complete the picture. It'll be another showpiece, just like his green Firebird 400.

You know this is a guy who's lived a long time and has seen the changes in our automobiles. In addition to his Pontiac Fiero he also has a 1979 Chevrolet Caprice in his garage.

Do you think today's cars will be restored by anyone with the interest to keep today's classics on the road?

2nd lawsuit targets Chicago gun ordinance

Well since I'm not in the know amongst the 2nd Amendment supporting community this came as a bit of a surprise, however, this shouldn't have been unexpected at all. There were other lawsuits about the restrictions on Chicagoans right to own a gun especially since they can carry a gun either onto their porches or into their garages. But also the new gun ordinance in Chicago prohibits gun shops within the city limits:

A man who wants to open a gun shop in Chicago is taking the city to federal court over its tough new gun control ordinance that also bans gun dealers from the city.

The lawsuit filed Friday follows another lawsuit filed in response to the ordinance passed this month that imposes strict rules on gun owners. The ordinance was passed in response to a Supreme Court decision that made the city's handgun ban unenforceable.

Like a previous lawsuit by four Chicagoans and gun sellers group, this one filed by a suburban Chicago gun dealer Joe Franzese argues the new ordinance is unconstitutional.

City officials argue banning gun shops is legal, saying it doesn't infringe on the right to own a gun because there are many gun shops near the city.

That AP article was very brief so I just copied the whole thing.

Anyway, I look at it in terms of possible revenue the city may be losing out on. If the city are suffering from budget deficits then why shut out any possible entrepreneur who wants to open a gun store? This could only contribute in some way to any possible tax revenue the city can use in this current time.

BTW, let's note that Mayor Daley in his campaign against guns has targeted gun stores. Not sure about the rationale only that he may believe that they contribute to violence in this city. I think overtime protests have been organized near suburban gun stores, specificially one in Riverdale, Illinois.

You know this should be a Supreme Court case too, but I don't have a great understanding of how a court challenge becomes a US Supreme Court case. Can a community decide what businesses can or can't open in their community? I would generally say no, however that battle was recently put to rest with regards to Wal-Mart.

Think about it. There were those who didn't support Wal-Mart because of their beliefs that they don't pay their workers enough or offer enough benefits and what-not. That battle was lost by those opposed to Wal-Mart and we may see more Wal-Marts in the future within the city.

Should the city actively ban gun shops with its city limits? I say no to that as well.

Blago cursed us out

In some of those wiretaps that he insisted would clear him. They may or may not clear him, but they sure make him look much worse. He may have no idea what may or may not be on those wiretaps.

Rod Blagojevich's approval ratings had tanked and he was furious. Illinois voters were ingrates, the former governor complained to an aide on an undercover recording played at his corruption trial Thursday.

"I (expletive) busted my ass and pissed people off and gave your grandmother a free (expletive) ride on a bus. OK? I gave your (expletive) baby a chance to have health care," Blagojevich ranted. "And what do I get for that?" he continued, "Only 13 percent of you all out there think I'm doing a good job. So (expletive) all of you."

However Blagojevich perceived himself, wiretap and witness accounts from several close advisers portray the former governor as the antithesis of a dedicated, hard-driving public servant.

I was just listening to a podcast of Chicago Now blogger Jim Laski, the disgraced former City Clerk of Chicago, who said that Blago (often referred to as Ousted governor on this blog) forgot where he came from. He thought he was all that and a bag of chips and ditched his father-in-law who helped him get elected to anything in the first place. Whether he wanted to be loved or not, fact is he was a lousy Governor. He was inept in his politics.

And you know I'm sorry that I haven't been following this trial bit by bit. I saw all the camera crews for the first day, but that's all. Surely we've heard a lot of goodies coming out of this case. We know that he put his family in debt because they choose wardrobes over their daughters' future education. We also know that Blago look no further than the link that provided the excerpt above to see that he was rarely in the office enough to make the big decisions we expect a state governor to make.

Unfortunately we elected him twice! The signs that this impending brush with the criminal justice system. We also found out that he wasn't hard at work for the good of our state. Yet he got re-elected.

You know if only 2006 was like 2010. Gov. Quinn is in it for himself for a change and it looks like he won't keep his mouth shut  with regards to the US Senate Candidate Alexi Giannoulis. Apparently it doesn't look good for him to benefit from not having to pay his income taxes as well! But if only in 2006, the Democratic machine hadn't been unwilling to rock the boat.

Obama hopes star joins hometown Bulls

Hmmm this reminds me of what happened when Chicago attempted to host the 2016 Olympics and Obama made a special trip to Europe to lobby the committee who decided the host city. It didn't work out and a lot of people just said that Obama repelled the committee.

Let's just say that I do hope LeBron James comes to the Bulls. I may actually become a fan again if he does, but let's hope that the President doesn't cause LeBron to go elsewhere.

LeBron James' much-anticipated decision about what team he will play for next season was even on the president's mind Wednesday, and he hasn't wavered in his stance.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs said the topic came up during White House meetings, with Barack Obama mulling how Chris Bosh's decision to join Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat might affect James' thinking on the eve of his expected announcement.

Gibbs said Obama's preference continues to be that the NBA superstar join the Bulls, the president's adopted hometown team.

"The president still believes that he would look quite good in a Bulls uniform," Gibbs told reporters, echoing comments Obama made during a May interview on TNT. Gibbs then joked that the president might be charged with tampering.

There's also that matter of politics. Ohioans are understandably preoccupied with James' decision, hoping the Akron native remains with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Given the Buckeye State's bellwether status in presidential elections, isn't it risky for Obama to be on record supporting James' defection to another city?

"I think ... the people of Ohio and the rest of the country would respect that the president's going to root for the team he's always rooted for," Gibbs said.

Oh snap! Sports and politics converging. This may all be speculation, but perhaps the Bulls-fan-in-chief needs to keep his preferences to himself. Especially if he may have a tough election bid in the next two years.

Non Tradition Markets, Non Traditional Clients

Hmmm, what can I say? The Woodlawn Wonder of I Hate My Developer talks about riding the CTA Red Line to downtown. Well I have noticed as she had that it seems the vendors who likes to operate on the Red Line during the day rarely panhandle their wares beyond downtown at least. If they're not panhandling they're begging.

The next question is what is it with the Dan Ryan line that sees that type of activity?

Well she mentioned seeing a white guy doing some panhandling as the train headed south of Roosevelt Road. Well Roosevelt Road just so happens to be the South Loop and since that's the new hot neighborhood there is a lot of activity at that stop.

Anyway, she won't even venture a guess that the police are selectively enforcing the law only north of Roosevelt Road, but she makes a general comment about the state of the economy. She sees that we're seeing white people in some "very traditional south side institutions". Therefore it just shows her that we're not going to be coming out of this recession anytime soon. BTW, the south side for the most part is largely populated by Blacks.

You know it almost seems like a racial comment, but only a general commentary. I won't say that the police aren't enforcing the panhandling laws on the CTA Dan Ryan route of the Red Line. At the same time, she's only noting the times we are living in right now.

Capitol Fax: Gun owners, gun dealers file suit against new Chicago ordinance

Rich Miller has a round-up of stories on Chicago's gun ordinance that was passed by the Chicago City Council on Friday. Amongst some points of contention some residents wants to be able to carry their gun outside of their home whether on the porch or in the garage. The only restriction should be a resident can carry a gun not merely in their house but on their property.

Also another point of contention is the limits on a number of guns a city resident can own. A resident can only purchase one gun a month. And at that they can only have one unlocked gun at home as well.

Like I said, some of these restrictions aren't unreasonable, but some of them are worth a challenge!

Reason: The Free State Project

For a while perhaps the better part of two years I followed the Free Staters of New Hampshire thanks to the Ridley Report. This article from Reason talks about these Free Staters and specifically mention those "liberty activists" who reside in Keen, New Hampshire. You can follow their exploits at freekeene.com.

Via Newsalert!

Sunday night

Well there was a lot of traffic near Jackson Park for the fireworks on the south side of town. So this picture reflects that as I was riding along Stony Island on the western edge of Jackson Park.

Register

Disregard, just for some reason I had to get my Blackberry formally set-up to post here. Strangely I was able to post a pic yesterday from the Blackberry. Got more to post just so that there will be some content for today.

First Blackberry pic

I took this yesterday on the northwest corner of State and Van Buren a group of men in shrouds with a sign "The 12 lost tribes of Israel".

Capitol Fax: Daley unveils new gun restrictions

OK I'm happy about most of this. Yeah Chicago isn't going to make it easy for residents to own guns, but at the same time it's not too unreasonable. At least residents won't be limited to one handgun per home, although to be sure you a resident at home is armed to the teeth I would start to think something is wrong. In addition one won't have to be forced to have liability insurance.

If I want to be a responsible gun owner then having to take a training course isn't a big deal. In fact I would welcome it. Most of us need to know how to safely operate a weapon in order to use it properly.

You know if the city is hard-up for cash then they might want to reconsider allowing gun shops to operate in Chicago. The argument could be almost the same for Wal-Mart of course it would be somewhat unfair if a Chicago gun shop may not have the sales a Wal-Mart is expected to generate. But it should be something to considered and it could be a winner for the city, especially for those who want to exercise their right to self-defense.

Of course the city shouldn't attempt to make owning guns "tax-prohibitive". That might be another lawsuit itself and surely Mayor Daley would want to stave that off.

The full city council is expected to debate this issue tomorrow. If you read this post from Clout City not many of the Aldermen are very happy about working that close to the 4th of July weekend.

Left Exposed: The NAACP'S Astronomically Stupid Protests

Sonja Schmidt from PJTV takes on the NAACP. Not sure how long this vid will be available so take advantage ASAP or you will have to either register with PJTV or cough up some money to be a subscriber!

She takes on a number of issues with the NAACP one of them being the name of that storied organization. Should they just change the part about "colored people"? We are living in an era where not only that is considered offensive by some, but also using another past term for Blacks, Negro, is also considered offensive.

BTW, she takes aim mainly at Julian Bond, the former Chairman of the organization who had taken shots at Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice in addition to the Republican Party by considering them not much different than the Nazi Party. Heh her point here is that Julian Bond didn't put much stock into another part of the NAACP, advancement. Powell and Rice advanced, but thanks to a Republican President.

Also Texas Congressman Sheila Jackson Lee. According to Schmidt feminists didn't want hurricanes to be given female names because they thought it was insulting. Hmmm, how is that?

Lee who may well be a feminist herself wanted black names to be used for hurricanes. The next question is what exactly constitutes a black name. Some of us shares names with people of other races although some of us may have these creative names that in my opinion have little meaning. When I have kids I'm giving them their forebear's name and at least their not created.

Finally what about the protest over the term "black hole". How did that become a derogatory term for black women? Especially if it's merely a scientific term for an astrological phenomena that are dead or dying stars. I think some people think too much and it only proves that they look for things to be upset about.