[VIDEO] Shocking development for the moment Smollett's defense team is appealing the sentence handed down in a Cook County court more than six days ago. Remember his outburst after his sentencing about him not being suicidal claiming if anything happened he didn't do it.
It was also in the news however that he was in a mental health ward of Cook County Jail and that he wasn't eating at all during his brief stay in jail. The mental health thing I'm not surprised about based on his outburst, being in jail I think is a very difficult state. I can't credibly sit here in front of you and say I'm hardened criminal and can get used to jail. I know for sure that's not the place for me, no more than it might be for Smollett.
Regardless he has an appeal and he's out on bond and from here we shall see what's next. Will his appeal fail and he might have to further serve his 150 day sentence? I read that for good behavior he could've been out in 75 days. Anyway what's next for this amazing saga?
However the judge's takedown at Smolletts sentence is priceless. I hate to see someone's reputation destroyed, however, how spectacular was this and all it took was staging this rather incredulous hoax.
[VIDEO] Mark Dice talks about the Jussie Smollett trial. To be honest I haven't been following this closely it was the hot trial going on through the Chicago area.
Noted in this video was that a special prosecutor was appointed in this case as well this was in fact a hoax perpetrated by the actor Smollett and Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx didn't press any charges. He in fact hired two Nigerian (Black) men to pose as Trump supporters wearing red MAGA hats. I heard snippets from the trial where Smollett admitting doing drugs with one of those brothers and even engaged in sexual activities.
However, yesterday the jury in the trail reach a verdict and found Smollett known for his role on the TV series Empire which was filmed in the Chicago area had been found guilty on five of six counts.
Dice following the media noted how a number of liberal or leftist minded celebrities and politicians came to support Smollett. Then mayor Rahm Emanuel still tried to blame then President Donald Trump claiming that he created this toxic environment where this hoax could take off. You Rahm I still need you to come back to Chicago and run it right, I don't think you were a joke as a mayor anymore we have one now...
Anyway, how many have shut up and quieted down because the truth came out. There aren't many Trump supporters in Chicago willing to do something so stupid in the middle of the night on a cold day day near downtown Chicago. I hardly have ever seen a red MAGA hat in the city and if I did I'd shake their hand because what do I care they stand for something and it's not necessarily what the mainstream fake news media wants you to believe they stand for.
Oh yeah as far as Kim Foxx she's derided by Dice as a Soros backed puppet. That's probably verifiable if one looks at the records for her campaign financial disclosures. However at a later time I want to explore this George Soros deal.
[VIDEO] I was struggling to find something to post tonite then I found this story. A woman was badly hurt in a hit-and-run and while her spirit is strong I see the damage done to her body. Worse still police found a person of interest can't hold them, can't charge them. They refer to the Cook County State's Attorney who keeps their comments mum.
Is this what Chicago has become? I noted on my blog a conflict between Mayor Lightfoot (or is it Lightweight) and State's Attorney Kim Foxx. Lightfoot wants shooters in a incident on the west side charged and arrested while the State's Attorney opts not to charge anyone and uses the term mutual combatants to justify no charges.
Just bear in mind if Cook County doesn't like the job the state's attorney is doing right now, they re-elected her just last year in 2020.
I heard Luis Gutierrez on the radio today and I may disagree with his take on the Adam Toledo case. Toledo was 13-years-old one very late nite when he was shot by a police officer. I've yet to see the actually video - I really don't like watching anyone's death in real time with very few exceptions - the screen caps I've seen showed him holding a gun and ultimately ditching the gun before his death. It would be easy to say the police acted reasonably as in did the officer see Toledo throw the gun away. It could also be said that Toledo at 13 probably wasn't mature enough to understand the gravity of what was going on.
Gutierrez is right though a gang member preyed upon Toledo. That gang member likely did something with that gun and in order to evade accountability gave Toledo his gun. Toledo was a troubled youth and I learned through Gutierrez that he had a learning disability and the education system failed him. Never fear the 21-year-old gang member was also caught and had a bail hearing this month.
Anyway the Sun-Times got some of Gutierrez a former longtime US Congressman and his criticism of Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx
Former congressman Luis Gutierrez slammed Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx on Sunday for failing to review video footage showing the police killing of 13-year-old Adam Toledo before a top deputy offered an erroneous account of the shooting during a court hearing earlier this month.
“That’s not acceptable,” Gutierrez said, calling out Foxx during a news conference at Daley Plaza. “Shame on you. How could you not have seen that video?”
Gutierrez said Foxx’s office’s initial description of the video footage effectively “muzzled” him and other community members.
“I would’ve spoken out earlier. I would’ve reached out,” Gutierrez said. “But you know what I thought? I said, the kid had a gun. He pointed it at the police officer.”
“And then I saw the video,” he added. “I didn’t see a gun. What I saw was a frightened 13-year-old kid getting shot by a police officer.”
And as the article goes on, there are parallels between what happened with Laquan McDonald and Adam Toledo. The McDonald case helped Foxx's predecessor Anita Alvarez lose her office in 2016 and ushered in the Foxx era at the State's Attorney Office. We have a few years before Foxx face the voters again as she just got re-elected in 2020, however, will this very tragic and sad case of this very troubled teen boy still be on the minds of voters in 2024.
Just for the hell of it, perhaps this news story from our local CBS affiliate regarding Gutierrez's comments will shed some light. [VIDEO]
[VIDEO] Bill O'Reilly discusses his former employers at FOX News. Among right wing sources it was noted that on Outnumbered with Harris Faulkner, the former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was shut down the moment he brought up George Soros. The panel I will exclude host Faulkner just said we need not bring up Soros, even Gingrich knew what was going on and used the German word for forbidden.
His only point was Soros has been using his fortune to fund the campaigns of a number of prosecutors such as Kim Gardner in St. Louis, Kim Foxx in Cook County. Oh let me tell you about our State's Attorney, 2nd City Cop wants her gone and they hope that Cook County voters do the impossible and vote the Republican in. We'll see what happens with that, sadly it happens all too often that Cook County residents will often just vote the Democrat in no matter their failures. People keep bringing up her handling of the Jussie Smollett fraud.
Kim Gardner is the Circuit Attorney in St. Louis who is known for attempting to pursue charges against Mr. & Mrs. McCloskey because they brandished their guns outside of their property during unrest there. A group of "rioters" trespassed into a gated community breaking down a gate to do so. With police not in sight they came out with their guns - word of advice to all of you don't just put a firearm get some training also because they didn't show it - and they're charged with unlawful use of a weapon exhibiting which is a felony.
With the McCloskey's I just have to share this. They got accosted by some "woke" protesters and offered a post card depicting their infamous moment outside their St. Louis home.
He mentions Contra Costa County in California, O'Reilly says it's Oakland I'm guessing suburban Oakland. The DA there is Diane Becton according to him she won't prosecute anyone for looting if they're poor. I saw an article that shows a common thread in Foxx, Gardner or Becton's officers, there's disfunction and those who work under them are bailing.
Bottom line is that some serious money was behind those candidates to get them elected, especially Soros money. Soros is known for putting money behind left wing causes. And he's turned his attention to local prosecutor races. O'Reilly states that for some reason Soros is using his vast fortune to upend America's justice system.
Another wrinkle to this is perhaps there were concerns over charges of anti-semitism as Soros is Jewish. Interesting, what was stated that was anti-semitic. Gingrich didn't mention anything about his religion or say anything remotely anti-semitic. That's another thing all he had to do was mention a name so is that problematic.
On this blog over the years I've flirted with the idea that I was a Republican. Then sometimes I just back away slowly from that idea. To be Black and a Republican has occasionally not been a very polite subject with some of the people I've met in my life. If I express support or say who I voted for here comes judgemental comments and only for voting for a Republican candidate I get called a Republican.
Only once have I actually pulled a Republican ballot in an election. In 2012 I voted for Ron Paul as I believed in some of his ideas especially the idea of non-intervention and strict controls on government. It's still a valuable idea and perhaps the next big shift in this nation's history is to go in Paul's direction which is often described as constitutionalist or libertarian.
In trying to make a point I want to hit you on a little Chicago political history. These days in Chicago and Cook County if you win the Democrat primary for any office federal, county, state, or even in Chicago (although there are no partisan primaries in municipal elections anymore) you are a shoo-in. Don't bother really campaigning in this part of Illinois people aren't going to vote Republican. They can't bring themselves to make such a radical move in droves.
I want to note that in 1972 the Cook County State's Attorney was Edward Hanrahan and unfortunately his office was involved in a raid on some Black Panthers on the west side of Chicago that proved very fatal. For Hanrahan's political career it proved fatal as although he won the Democratic primary that year, he lost to his Republican opponent a man by the name Bernard Carey (the last comment on this blog was on a post I wrote about him after his death). Basically Black Democrats were so upset about this raid at the time which took place in 1969 that they chose to vote Republican that year.
With this said, it's hard to see that ever happening here in Chicago in the current climate. The political climate of Cook County was far different in 1972 than 2020. I think people are very solidly Democrat now to the point where a Republican could run against a weakened Democrat, but the weakened Democrat will still win in the general election.
So in giving you that political lesson, perhaps I could have a home within the fabled Chicago Democrat machine. I could be something of a more common sense or even conservative voice within that space. And the reason why I might back off of that is the same reason why I may back off of being Republican. Would I feel comfortable either way?
I always had the idea that if I joined the Democrats that I would be forced to toe the party line. If I spoke on issues that I believed are important for example tackling the issues of crime and economic development in low income communities it wouldn't sit well with the machine. A true leader shouldn't just toe the party line which is my belief, a leader must do that they believe is right and just.
On the Republican side while I could view myself as a voice in the wilderness largely unencumbered within the space of a more dominant party I would be view as an anomaly. I get the feeling I'd be with people who wouldnt understand me as a person that would join them with genuine interest in their political platform. On the other hand the people that I wish to follow me likely wouldn't because of that R behind my name.
I write all this to say that on another blog I wrote about being part of the solution. I'm still trying to figure that out, however, in going to college to study political science my goal was to always be part of the game. I do want to be part of the solution and now get the feeling that I've largely been sitting on the sidelines, with my blogs aside.
At that point my best answer is one that still being figured out at this point. Now in a time of unrest with what happened in Minneapolis or the ongoing issues in Atlanta to name a few places now is the time for the new leaders to emerge. As for my own personal sensibilities, it wouldn't matter much if they have a D or an R next to their name. We just need strong firm leaders right now and in some places around the nation such creatures are now missing!
[VIDEO] I haven't done a very good job of following the Jussie Smollet saga. I think most people who follow the news in the last couple of so months agree that he may well have faked this supposed racist and homophobic attack on him in Streeterville, Chicago.
It seems fantastical with mentions of bleach, a noose on his neck, and appearances of red Make America Great Again hats. Worse still mentions of MAGA country in an area that is as solid blue as blue can be. You would be a brave person wearing such a hat in Chicago, people just reflexively have a very narrow judgement of you as a person with such a hat.
Strange still this was a racist attack that may well have involved payouts to two Nigerian brothers who was paid to carry out this hoax. They were the racist homophobes who attacked Smollett who is one of the stars of the hit FOX network series Empire.
And then the shock announcement yesterday, all charges dropped. As you see in the above video from Mark Dice this morning, we see the train of thought on this. Did former first lady Michelle Obama get involved, is the current Cook County State's Attorney corrupt enough to allow this (and just bear in mind she recused herself from this case in the beginning), and even the establishment here in Chicago especially outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel is mad about this.
Somethings not adding up here and unfortunately whatever deal was made through the justice system in Cook County is sealed. So who knows if we'll ever know what led up to dropping charges after Smollet did two months of community service with Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Push Coalition and then relinquishing his bond to stay out of jail. Perhaps we'll know the truth, but who knows.
