Baltimore blues

The Baltimore riots story keeps getting worse. First, a Maryland Eastern Shore county sheriff said he "was sick to my stomach" when he was told to stand down, in other words, do nothing, as the opportunistic brutes rioted in front of him.

Last weekend Baltimore's leftist mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake authorized police to "give those who wished to destroy space to do that."

Normally I would dismiss a story such as this one, but since it comes from the liberal Washington Post, it bears notice. A fellow prisoner in the van where Freddie Gray rode in claims that the now-deceased man was "trying to injure himself."

Could it be that Gray--who had a long arrest record--was harming himself in order to fabricate a police attack on him so he could collect on a lawsuit? Are the thugs and professional protesters rioting over a lie?

Obama library to be in Chicago

University of Chicago

Although I am not often in the Hyde Park area of Chicago's South Side, I still wish the Obama presidential library would have ended up a time zone or more away from me. I've been tired of hearing about the so-called greatness of the great man since 2003.

From AP:

President Barack Obama has chosen his hometown of Chicago to host his future presidential library, two individuals with knowledge of the decision said Thursday, placing the permanent monument to his legacy in the city that launched his improbable ascent to the White House.

Obama's library will be built on Chicago's South Side, where the University of Chicago has proposed two potential sites not far from the Obama family's home. It was unclear which of the two sites had been selected, but officials were expected to make an announcement within weeks.

The crime-ridden Roseland neighborhood would have been a more appropriate choice. The far-South Side neighborhood is where Obama was a community organizer in the mid-1980s. It's still one of the most violent parts of Chicago.

Not for the kids: 18 Detroit schools closed today because unionized teachers are at a rally

When public school teachers when they gather at rallies invariably they say their efforts are "for the kids."

Well, today thousands of Detroit students are staying home today because their teachers are at the state capitol for a protest.

From the Detroit Free Press:

Detroit Public Schools closed 18 schools today as hundreds of teachers headed to Lansing to rally against Gov. Rick Snyder's intended changes for the district.

"The union is up on its feet, ready to do what it takes to support our students and fight for their right to an equal, quality education," Steve Conn, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said in a news release.

The union said in the release that teachers were going to the Capitol to "express teachers' support for public education and determined opposition to Gov. Snyder's efforts to expand charters and the EAA [Education Achievement Authority] in Detroit."

Hundreds of parents are probably taking an unplanned day off from work.

Why can't these teachers protest on the weekends when schools are closed?

Detroit parents should be rallying against their teachers.

Michael Moore calls for disarming cops, freeing all non-violent prisonsers

The last few days over Twitter ultra leftist Michael Moore has called for disarming the police and for the release of all criminals being held for committing non-violent crimes.

Moore is detached from reality.

On this day in 1865: Lincoln funeral train arrives in Indianapolis

After Abraham Lincoln's funeral in 1865 a funeral train retraced the train route the Great Emancipator took from Springfield to Washington DC, albeit in reverse order.

And 150 years ago today that train arrived in Indianapolis.

Pictured is one side of the historical marker located on the south lawn of the Indiana State House.

It reads:

In the rain, Lincoln's coffin was escorted along crowded streets lined with soldiers to old State House, located here. Reports say at least 50,000 people viewed Lincoln's open casket in the rotunda. Through streets lit by bonfires and torches, coffin was returned to Union Depot; train departed at 12:00 a.m. for Michigan City, last scheduled Indiana stop.

Lincoln posts:

• Thirty hours in Lincoln's Springfield, Illinois
• Abraham Lincoln birthplace site
• Abraham Lincoln birthplace site's log cabin
• My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: Jonesboro, site of the third Lincoln-Douglas Debate
• Review, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever
• Happy 206th, Abraham Lincoln--the Illinois & Michigan Canal and Abe
• On this day 155 years ago: Lincoln campaigns for Frémont in Dixon, IL
• (Photos) Lincoln Terrace at Forest Lawn Cemetery--Hollywood Hills
• (Video) Witness to Lincoln assassination appears on TV quiz show

Ex-governor and ex-con Dan Walker of Illinois dead at 92

Dan Walker, a wavy-haired liberal who fashioned himself as a WASP version of John F. Kennedy, died Wednesday at the age of 92. He was a colossal failure as governor of Illinois--when he left office at the end of his single term in 1977 the state was in terrible financial shape. But Walker left behind two time bombs that would make matters worse.

He proved himself to be a 1980s kind of guy by getting involved in a savings and loan scandal for which he served 17 months in prison. But unlike many pols who spent time in the joint, Walker didn't blame anyone else and he was contrite. For that he deserves respect.

As for the time bombs, Walker accelerated the unionization of state employees which set up a financial downward spiral of unions backing public officials, mostly Democrats, who would reward state workers with generous wages and pensions that Illinois taxpayers can't afford.

Pat Quinn, the Chicago Democrat who was voted out of office last fall, became governor in 2009. He proved to be an even worse financial manager than Walker. He served in the Walker administration, including time as a ghost payroller. 

Rest in peace.

(Photos) White pelicans at the Rock River Dixon Dam

Work took Mrs. Marathon Pundit to Dixon, Illinois--Ronald Reagan's hometown--on Monday.

While walking across the Galena Avenue bridge over the Rock River--she noticed a flock of white pelicans near the Dixon Dam, a low-head dam on the Rock.

As I've written before, low-head dams are dangerous to kayakers and canoeists. Yes, there are a couple of pelicans in this photo.

A closer look at the pelicans with the dam.

Unlike brown pelicans, their white cousins don't dive--they used their large bills to capture food such as fish and amphibians.

White pelicans are among the largest birds in North America. Behind these waterfowl is the remains of an old bridge.

Related post:

White pelicans in Channahon, Illinois

Dixon posts:

• Ronald Reagan Trail: Dixon
• Reagan lifeguard statue effort underway in Dixon, IL
• Ronald Reagan Trail: Lowell Park and 78 lives saved
• Marathon Pundit's Ronald Reagan Trail
• Midwestern Presidential Pathway: Dixon, a shining city upon a hill
• Midwestern Presidential Pathway: Ronald Reagan's Dixon, Illinois
• Ike, the military truck convoy, the Lincoln Highway, and Dixon, Illinois
• The only statue of Lincoln in military dress is in Dixon, Illinois
• New Reagan statue in Dixon, Illinois
• On this day 155 years ago: Lincoln campaigns for Frémont in Dixon, IL

Obama economy still flatlining

Super Bowl Sunday Blizzard 2015

The first quarter GDP numbers are out and they're not good. The economy grew at a rate of 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2015. Three percent is considered ideal--but since the 2008-09 recession the Obama economy has limped long well below that mark.

Falling oil prices have hurt energy firms but cheap gasoline hasn't filtered down to the rest of the economy yet. Cold weather is being blamed too--but what happened to global warming?

(MSNBC video) Chuck Todd says Clinton Fdn accepting foreign cash "boggles the mind"

Leftist and Meet the Press host Chuck Todd appeared on MSNBC's Meet the Press where he told the host that it "boggles the mind" that slush fund known as the Clinton Foundation accepts foreign contributions.

Only openly socialist senator to run against Hillary

Vermont's Independent senator Bernie Sanders will announce on Thursday that he's running for president as a Democrat--which means Hillary Rodham Clinton will have at least one major opponent during the 2016 caucuses and primaries.

Sanders is the only openly socialist member of Congress--and for that I respect him. Unlike, say President Obama, Sanders doesn't hide who he really is. Although a Sanders presidency--which is quite unlikely--would be disastrous for America and the world.

(Video) Let kids pick their own schools as a way to decrease city violence

Charles Krauthammer raised a great point tonight on Fox News in regards to the Baltimore riots. He suggests letting youths choose their own schools as a way to decrease urban violence. City schools have been failing minorities for at least two generations.

Reagan on horseback statue in Dixon, Illinois

Yesterday Mrs. Marathon Pundit visited Dixon, Illinois, the boyhood home of the greatest president of the 20th century. She snapped this striking photograph of Dixon's beloved "Dutch" on horseback that is on a small plaza on the south bank of the Rock River. Upriver Reagan served as a lifeguard at Lowell Park for six summers.

Dixon posts:

• Ronald Reagan Trail: Dixon
• Reagan lifeguard statue effort underway in Dixon, IL
• Ronald Reagan Trail: Lowell Park and 78 lives saved
• Marathon Pundit's Ronald Reagan Trail
• Midwestern Presidential Pathway: Dixon, a shining city upon a hill
• Midwestern Presidential Pathway: Ronald Reagan's Dixon, Illinois
• Ike, the military truck convoy, the Lincoln Highway, and Dixon, Illinois
• The only statue of Lincoln in military dress is in Dixon, Illinois
• New Reagan statue in Dixon, Illinois
• On this day 155 years ago: Lincoln campaigns for Frémont in Dixon, IL

Act of war: Iranians fire on and then seize US ship--UPDATED

Our appeasement-minded president just negotiated a defeatist treaty with the lunatics misruling Iran that at best only delays the ability to produce nuclear weapons.

But our new 'friends' in Iran just fired on and then seized a US cargo ship in the Persian Gulf--and the rogue regime captured 34 American sailors.

If America didn't have an anti-American president--this piracy would be considered an act of war.
Of course Iran has a bad history of holding Americans hostage.

UPDATE 11:00AM CDT:

This report may not be true.

O'Malley's 'zero-tolerance' crime policy while mayor of Baltimore under fire as city burns

Democrat Martin O'Malley is not only a former Maryland governor, he served two terms as mayor of Baltimore. And his get-tough Rudy Giuliani-style policing policy is under fire as Baltimore burns. O'Malley is considering running for president.

From the Washington Post:

It was as a crime-busting mayor some 15 years ago that O'Malley first gained national attention. Although he is positioning himself as a progressive alternative to Hillary Clinton, O'Malley also touts a police crackdown during his time as mayor that led to a stark reduction in drug violence and homicides as one of his major achievements.

Yet some civic leaders and community activists in Baltimore portray O'Malley's policing policies in troubling terms. The say the "zero-tolerance" approach mistreated young black men even as it helped dramatically reduce crime, fueling a deep mistrust of law enforcement that flared anew last week when Gray died after suffering a spinal injury while in police custody.

Police in Baltimore — like their counterparts elsewhere — have had strained relations with African Americans for generations. But community leaders say the relationship reached a nadir during O'Malley's tenure, thanks to a policing strategy that resulted in tens of thousands of arrests for minor offenses such as loitering and littering.

Although prosecutors declined to bring many of the cases, activists contend that those who were arrested often could not get their records expunged, making it harder for them to get jobs.

O'Malley, who cancelled a trip to Ireland because of the mayhem in his hometown, was probably looking to parley his crime-busting reputation in a general election --but leftists will probably tear him apart during the primaries if he decides to challenge Hillary Clinton.

Baltimore mayor under fire for "space to destroy" comments

Widespread rioting, looting and arson struck Baltimore over the last few days. Unfortunately for the decent people of Maryland's largest city, its leftist mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, gave criminals "space to destroy."

The brutes are looting again this morning.

From Fox News:

But over the weekend, Rawlings-Blake made what some saw as inflammatory remarks as she described how she had instructed police to give residents protesting the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody the opportunity to exercise their right to free speech.

She seemed to take that notion a step further: "It's a very delicate balancing act, because, while we tried to make sure that they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well.

"And we worked very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to deescalate, and that's what you saw."

As her "destroy" remarks faced a buzzsaw of criticism amid the riots Monday, the mayor initially tried to deny she said them.

Rawlings-Blake is also under fire for not calling for assistance from the state until the mayhem was out of control.

(Video) Randy Newman: Baltimore

Here's a timely tune from Randy Newman: "Baltimore." Although best known for the hit single "Short People," his 1977 album Little Criminals is packed with memorable songs such as the one about the city that's in the news because of the ongoing riots.

Here's the chorus of "Baltimore":

Oh Baltimore
Man it's hard just to live
Oh, Baltimore
Man, it's hard just to live, just to live

Watch as Newsman sings this song in 2006.

Opportunistic brutes attacking Baltimore

After today's funeral for Freddie Gray in Baltimore--the service was held at a church, I'd like to emphasize--opportunistic brutes looted, rioted, and set fires in Maryland's largest city.

The rioters, who are mainly but not exclusively young, are the by-product of a two or three of decades of left-wing teaching in schools and colleges. The barbarians believe they are an aggrieved class--yet they still know what they are doing is wrong. After all, many of the beasts are wearing masks as they plunder. 

We are six years into the presidency of America's first anti-American president. Our nation isn't healing under our first black president--it's coming apart. 

(Photo) 1990 Ford Mustang

Parked on a driveway on Oakton Street in Niles, Illinois is a 1990 Ford Mustang convertible in Smoke Metallic that is for sale.

Related post:

(Photo) 1966 Ford Mustang

Chiraq: 4 dead and at least 22 wounded over the weekend

Two Chicago playoff games on Saturday--the Bulls and the Blackhawks were in action--weren't enough to prevent a dent in the rate of shootings in Chiraq. Four Chicagoans were murdered and another 22 were wounded.

Univ of Illinois throws away $30K on Biden visit

University of Illinois Quad, Urbana

My alma mater took a break from hiring terrorists to teach--the taxpayer-supported school just wasted thousands of dollars on a visit from Vice President Joe Biden so he could talk about the problem of campus sexual assaults.

From the News-Gazette:

The University of Illinois is still tabulating the final cost of Thursday's event, but spokeswoman Robin Kaler estimated the total at about $30,000. Most of the materials purchased will be reused, however, so the net cost is probably closer to $25,000, she said.

The chancellor's office will cover all expenses, using no state or tuition money, she said.

Labor costs were all internal — paying another campus unit to live-stream Joe Biden's speech, for example, she said.

The campus did buy more than 4,700 linear feet of lumber to build bleachers for the event, but it will be reused, she said.

The college also threw away an undisclosed sum on 500 "It's On Us" shirts.

Why couldn't Biden do the speech through video conferencing?

The president of the University of Illinois has complained about proposed state funding cuts. The problem is this: state colleges never feel they have to tighten their belts. That's why Illinois is always billions behind in paying its bills. Fortunately in Bruce Rauner we have a governor who knows that Illinois has a spending problem.

(Video) Clinton Cash

Respected reporter Peter Schweizer, author of the The Clinton Cash, was a guest on Fox News Sunday today where he talked about the slush fund that is known as the Clinton Foundation.

Host Chris Wallace reported that of the 11 speeches former president Bill Clinton gave where he collected $500,000 or more--nine were made while his wife was secretary of state.

That's called influence peddling.

Baltimore #BlackLivesMatter protest turns into violent riot

The mainstream media is downplaying this violent event--but not Agence France-Presse.

From AFP:

Protesters smashed police cars and shop windows in downtown Baltimore on Saturday when the biggest demonstration over the death of a young African-American man in police custody turned violent.

More than 1,000 people joined an orderly 90-minute rally at Baltimore city hall demanding justice for Freddie Gray, who died last Sunday from spinal injuries, a week after his arrest in the city’s impoverished west side.

But the mood shifted dramatically when several scores of protesters moved on to the Camden Yards baseball stadium, an hour before the scheduled start of a Baltimore Orioles-Boston Red Sox game.

Live images from local television news helicopters showed a youthful crowd hurling soda bottles and trash cans at police officers alongside the Sports Legends museum and Camden Yards ticket booths.

From Da Tech Guy: Unions–and a one day classroom sub–shed light on Illinois’ pension debacle

For the second consecutive week I return to the morass of the Prairie State for my weekly post at Da Tech Guy blog: Unions–and a one day classroom sub–shed light on Illinois' pension debacle.

Illinois Tollway Authority no longer forced to hire unionized contractors

Tri-State Tollway, Des Plaines, IL

Like Illinois' Republican reform governor Bruce Rauner--I'm not anti-union. I'm pro-worker and pro-taxpayer. Both received some good news yesterday.

From the Daily Herald:

Illinois tollway directors voted Thursday to eliminate a 21-year agreement requiring contractors to hire collective bargaining units, reflecting Gov. Bruce Rauner's push to reduce union influence in the state.

"The governor believes the tollway made the correct decision which will save tollway users money," Rauner spokesman Lance Trover said.

It will.

(Photos) Prophetstown State Park

During my 2011 journey across Illinois' Ronald Reagan Trail I traveled through Prophetstown, which, like Tampico where "Dutch" was born, is a small village in Whiteside County east of the Quad Cities.

The town is not named for an Old Testament prophet but for Wabokieshiek (White Cloud), a Native American of mixed Ho Chunk (Winnebago) and Sauk descent. He was an advisor to Black Hawk, a Sauk/Fox chief. One prophecy that Wabokieshiek got wrong was that the British and other Indian tribes would come to the aid of his tribe during the Black Hawk War of 1832.

On the south bank of the Rock River is Prophetstown State Park--which is located at the site of once was "the Prophet's Village."

During the Black Hawk War, a company led by Captain Abraham Lincoln burned the village, as the marker notes.

The Rock River: Up river Ronald Reagan was a lifeguard at Lowell Park in Dixon.

Cook Creek flows into the Rock River at the 53 acre park.

The Rock flows into the Mississippi River at Rock Island, Illinois.

Related posts:

• Report from Tampico, Illinois on Reagan's 100th birthday
• Marathon Pundit's Ronald Reagan Trail

(Photo) 1938 Chevrolet Master Deluxe

For the second time this month a vintage bright red Chevy Deluxe drove past my work place on River Road in Des Plaines, Illinois

Pictured here is a 1938 Chevrolet Master Deluxe with chrome wheels.

Related posts:

(Photo) 1951 Chevrolet Deluxe

(Photo) Classic car: 1936 Chevrolet Master Deluxe

On this day in 1915: Battle of Gallipoli begins

Senseless slaughter during World War I wasn't limited to the the eastern and western fronts. On April 25, 1915, British, Australian, and New Zealander forces invaded the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkish Thrace. The battle ended with an Ottoman Empire victory eight months later. Over 130,000 Turkish and Allied soldiers died at Gallipoli.

Related posts:

• Sece, Latvia's World War I German cemetery
• Sece, Latvia's World War I German cemetery--part two

Belleau Lake on a windy day

Two days ago I posted a photograph of Big Bend Lake, a Des Plaines, Illinois borrow-pit on a dead calm day. A couple of miles south of there is another borrow-pit that was used to build Interstate 294, Belleau Lake.

The wind plays tricks with the sunlight--giving Belleau a dark blue hue.

Related post:

Big Bend Lake's reflection

Armenians mark genocide anniversary in their capital

A horrible atrocity began 100 years ago today.

From the BBC:

Ceremonies are being held in Armenia to mark the centenary of the start of mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

The presidents of France and Russia joined other leaders at the memorial for the victims on the outskirts of the capital, Yerevan.

Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died, a figure disputed by Turkey.

President Obama, who as a candidate vowed to recognize the World War I genocide, instead parsed words in his statement marking this sad centennial.

Related post:

Obama won't call Turkish mass-killings of Armenians genocide

Pope gets it right on Turkish genocide of Armenians

On this day in 1915: Armenian genocide begins

Armenian flag

On April 24, 1915 Ottoman Turks arrested 250 Armenian leaders--thus began the Turkish genocide of 1.5 million Armenians.

Ever since Turkish leaders--including its current president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have denied that it occurred.

It did. Never forget and never again.

Related post:

Obama won't call Turkish mass-killings of Armenians genocide

Pope gets it right on Turkish genocide of Armenians

Thug ex-union boss gets 8 years in prison for arson, extortion, and racketeering

This goon even torched a Quaker house of worship.

More from the Philadelphia Business Journal:

A Philadelphia ironworkers union leader accused of using extortion and violence to force non-union contractors to hire organized labor was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday.

Edward Sweeney, 56, of Philadelphia was a business agent for the Ironworkers Local 401 when he admitted to participating in a series of incidents as part of a plan to force non-union contractors to hire union labor.

Among the 10 incidents of extortion or attempted extortion were a December 2012 arson at a Chestnut Hill Quaker meetinghouse, an arson on Grays Avenue in Philadelphia, and an attempted arson in Malvern, all of which federal prosecutors were in retaliation for contractors' failure to hire union ironworkers.

Sweeney pleaded guilty on Sept. 30 to RICO conspiracy, maliciously damaging property by means of fire, use of fire to commit a felony, maliciously damaging property by means of fire, conspiracy to maliciously damage property by means of fire, and attempted maliciously damaging property by means of fire.

Crooked ex-IL legislator gets only 5 months in prison for bribery

Chicago's skyline

If we are going to remove Illinois from the list of the most-corrupt states in America, then violators for the public trust need to receive stiffer sentences for their crimes. Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's 14 year corruption sentence was a clear step in the right direction.

Today there was a step back. Former Illinois House member Derrick Smith, like Blago a Chicago Democrat, was sentenced to only five months for accepting a $7,000 bribe in a federal sting operation. Smith is the only person to be expelled twice from the General Assembly. Federal prosecutors sought four years for Smith--which would be a just term for long-suffering Illinois residents.

From the NY Times: Cash flowed to Clinton Foundation as Russians pressed for control of uranium company

The Clinton Foundation is a slush fund for Bill and Hillary. Even the New York Times has caught on, as it tells us here: Cash flowed to Clinton Foundation as Russians pressed for control of uranium company.

Two western hostages accidentally killed in drone strike; Adam the Former American also dead

It's tragic that two hostages are dead, but at least two terrorists were killed.

From Fox News:

An American and an Italian held hostage by Al Qaeda were accidentally killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation earlier this year, the White House said Thursday, in a stunning and tragic admission.

The White House also revealed that two American terror operatives were killed, but the revelation that hostages died -- in an apparent drone strike -- is leading to what President Obama called a "full review."

Obama, speaking from the White House, expressed "grief and condolences" for the deaths of the hostages, American development expert Warren Weinstein and Italian national Giovanni Lo Porto.

"I profoundly regret what happened," Obama said, offering his "deepest apologies" to the families.

In a separate strike, American traitor and Al Qaeda member Adam Gadahn was killed in a separate drone attack. He appeared in several jihadi videos as "Adam the American." He should have called himself "Adam the former American."

Obama won't call Turkish mass-killings of Armenians genocide

One thing that this AP article leaves out is that the Turks are Muslims and Armenians are Christians.

President Barack Obama will once again stop short of calling the 1915 massacre of Armenians a genocide, prompting anger and disappointment from those who have been pushing him to fulfill a campaign promise and use the politically fraught term on the 100th anniversary of the killings this week. Officials decided against it after opposition from some at the State Department and the Pentagon.

After more than a week of internal debate, top administration officials discussed the final decision with Armenian-American leaders Tuesday before making it public. The White House said the officials pledged that the U.S. would use Friday's centennial anniversary "to urge a full, frank and just acknowledgement of the facts." That language echoed the administration's five previous statements on the anniversary, as well as those of previous administrations. But it did not use the word "genocide," as many had hoped.

As a senator and presidential candidate, Obama did describe the killings of Armenians as "genocide" and said the U.S. government had a responsibility to recognize them as such. As a candidate in January 2008, Obama pledged to recognize the genocide and at least one of his campaign surrogates — the current U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power — recorded a nearly five-minute video at the time imploring Armenian-Americans to vote for Obama precisely because he would keep his word on the issue.

But Obama has never used that description since taking office, mainly out of deference to Turkey, a key U.S. partner and NATO ally, which is fiercely opposed to the "genocide" label.

The Turks used to be an important ally but they refused to let our troops invade Iraq from their land in 2003 and they've become quite anti-Israeli since an Islamist party took control of the nation.

(Video) Don't worry Saudi women--Hillary supports your right to drive

The Islamo-supremacist kingdom of Saudi Arabia has contributed over $10 million to the Clinton Foundation. In Chicago, where Hillary Clinton was born, that's called influence peddling.

But don't you worry--HRC says she supports Saudi women who want to drive. But women in Saudi Arabia are chattel who have essentially no rights. What about that, Hillary?

Big Bend Lake's reflection

The best times to take a picture of a small lake are on windy days and dead calm days. 

This photograph was taken on the latter type of day last week. It's Big Bend Lake, a Des Plaines, Illinois borrow-pit. The clouds seem to meet the lake here.

Tomorrow I'll have a photo of another borrow-pit on a windy day. 

On this day in 1915: Poison gas used for first time in World War I

German World War I
Cemetery, Latvia

The horrors of warfare reached a new low 100 years ago today when German forces released poison gas on Allied soldiers in Belgium during World War I.

From the Independent:

At around 5pm, across a 6km front, troops released almost 6,000 metal cannisters – 168 tonnes – of poisonous chlorine gas towards trenches held by French and Algerian forces near the Belgian city of Ypres.

The results were devastating. A noxious yellow cloud enveloped the allied positions, and within moments 5,000 soldiers were dead, with another 10,000 injured, as the gas ate into their unprotected lungs.

Field Marshal Sir John French, Commander in Chief of the British force at Ypres, described the attack in his dispatches from the front line. "It was at first impossible for anyone to realise what had actually happened," he wrote.

"The smoke and fumes hid everything from sight, and hundreds of men were thrown into a comatose or dying condition, and within an hour the whole position had to be abandoned."

For the most part poison gas has not been used as weapon since the end of the Great War--although it was utilized by both evil sides in the Iran-Iraq War.

Related posts:

• Sece, Latvia's World War I German cemetery
• Sece, Latvia's World War I German cemetery--part two

Earth Day 2015: Let's not be slobs

If you wandered onto this blog in search of chicken-little global warming hysteria--then you came to the wrong place.

I'm old enough--barely--to remember the first Earth Day and much of the emphasis was on clean air, water, and land. As for that last one. My friends, let's not be slobs. On every roadside--at least in the Chicago area, I see trash, such as this collection on Algonquin Road that I found in the Campground Woods Forest Preserve in Des Plaines. That's right, the rubbish in the photograph on the right lies in a forest preserve.

I'm going to make it easy for you. If you drink a soda--don't throw the container out of the window of your car. If you are walking while doing so, don't toss it on the ground. There are trash cans on the planet but this world should be nobody's trash can. This my friends is something we can all agree on.

Such a clean Earth effort costs nothing.

Obama lied: He's known that Iran is only 2-3 months from getting nukes for 2 years

Almost two years ago the Obama White House scolded Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for saying that the Islamo-supremacists misruling Iran could get a nuclear bomb in two or three months.

Not only was Netanyahu right but Obama knew he was and lied about it.

How much more damage to the world can Obama inflict in the next two years?

Dutchman's breeches wildflower

The cleverly-monikered Dutchman's breeches, also known as Dutchman's britches, are a common early spring wildflower. This specimen I found yesterday in Des Plaines, Illinois' Dam Number 4 Woods East Forest Preserve. The irregular white petals give this flower its name.

(MSNBC video) Dem rep downplays 'Death to America' chants in Iran: Could be read 'a couple of ways'

President Obama's State Department just concluded negotiations that at best only delays the Islamo-supremacist regime of Iran from acquiring nuclear bombs.

Meanwhile, yesterday on MSNBC, a reporter threw a softball question about Iranian "Death to America" chants to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). The liberal replied that such hateful rhetoric could be read "a couple of ways."

Really? A slow death? A quick death?

Onward Christian soldiers: Michigan Catholic priest urges parishioners to arm themselves

Michigan Theater,
Ann Arbor, MI

Even a Roman Catholic priest in the liberal university town of Ann Arbor, Michigan can take only so much.

From the Detroit Free Press:

An Ann Arbor Catholic priest has urged his parishioners to arm themselves and attend classes at Christ the King parish to earn a concealed pistol license (CPL).

In a letter sent to Christ the King parishioners recently, the Rev. Edward Fride explained why he believed it was necessary to get concealed pistol licenses because of recent crime in the area. During a Palm Sunday mass last month, Fride announced that the parish would be holding the CPL class.

When some parishioners questioned the decision, Fride sent out a pro-gun letter titled "We're not in Mayberry Anymore, Toto" – a reference to the 1960s-era Andy Griffith Show and its portrayal of a fictional North Carolina town, as well as Dorothy's dog from the Wizard of Oz.

"It is very common for Christians to simply assume that they live in Mayberry, trusting that because they know the Lord Jesus, everything will always be fine and nothing bad can happen to them and their families," Fride wrote.

Catholic teachings do allow for self defense.

Blame the Lutherans: Six Somali Minnesotans charged with wanting to join Islamic State

Once most of Minnesota was like Garrison Keillor's mythical Lake Wobegon.

The idyllic days are over.

From the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Six young Minnesota men, reportedly disillusioned with American life and swayed by a peer who'd already made the journey, tried repeatedly to travel to Syria and fight with the Islamic State, according to federal charges filed Monday.

They were thwarted with the help of a fellow recruit who had a change of heart and became an FBI informant, investigators said.

The group is Minnesota's largest contingent accused of trying to join the insurgent group since authorities first warned last year that Minnesotans were being recruited to the Islamic State, a designated terrorist organization that has attracted foreign fighters from around the world to conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

The men, all Somali Americans between 19 and 21 years old, were charged Monday with conspiracy to support a terrorist organization. They made their first appearances in federal court Monday afternoon.

As for the Somalis, an astounding forty percent of the refugees in the United States from Somalia settled in Minnesota, largely because of the efforts of Lutheran Social Services. "Everybody blames the Lutherans," Clint Eastwood's Walt Kowalski character complained in Gran Torino. Maybe for good reason. Perhaps the Lutheran Church should go back to proselytizing and saving souls instead of bringing jihadis and terrorist sympathizers to America.

Yes, I'll be discussing this entry with Mrs. Marathon Pundit, a Lutheran, tomorrow.

Dusk at the Oakton Street Des Plaines River Bridge

If the sun and the clouds cooperate--no leaves are needed on trees for striking colors to emerge. Such was the case shortly before sunset facing east at the Oakton Street Bridge facing east towards two Cook County Forest Preserves.

(Photos) Cutleaf toothwort

After another brutal winter the sight of wildflowers in the woods is a welcome one.

The cutleaf toothwort is a four-petal flower that is among the earliest bloomers in Illinois. The blossoms are either white or a light purple.

These flowers were photographed yesterday afternoon in Morton Grove's Linne Woods Forest Preserve.

Chiraq: 4 dead and at least 30 wounded over weekend

It was another bloody weekend in Chicago. Four residents were shot to death and at least 30 others were wounded in Chiraq.

Old North Church at Forest Lawn Cemetery--Hollywood Hills

Today is Patriot's Day in Massachusetts--which of course coincides with the annual running of the Boston Marathon. The holiday commemorates the first battles of the Revolutionary War, Lexington and Concord, which was fought on April 19, 1775.

Lanterns hung at Old North Church in Boston alerted the patriots that British troops were on the march and Paul Revere began his storied ride.

Last last year at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles Mrs. Marathon Pundit took this photograph of a replica of Old North Church at the famous graveyard.

As for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombers, jihadists Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the first one is dead and the other is rotting in jail.

Freedom prevails.

Related post:

(Photos) Lincoln Terrace at Forest Lawn Cemetery--Hollywood Hills

(Photo) Model airplane flying in Morton Grove

There are at least a couple of model airplane flying fields that are part of the Cook County Forest Preserve District. One where I grew up on LaGrange Road in Palos Township and another on Chicago's Northwest Side.

Morton Grove's Linne Woods restored tallgrass prairie is note one of those fields, but that didn't stop these two men from flying their model aircraft this afternoon.

From Da Tech Guy: An education on the Illinois corruption tax

My weekly post on Da Tech Guy blog returns to Prairie State graft: An education on the Illinois corruption tax.

(Video) Jackie Kucinich on Hillary: "At the end of the day will be a friend of Wall Street"

Hillary Clinton is not fooling leftist Jackie Kucinich of the Daily Beast. The woman who made a fortune on cattle futures and whose foundation is still raking in millions for foreign governments will, Kucinich says, "at the end of the day will be a friend of Wall Street."

(Video) Weekly GOP Address with Mark Kirk on Iran

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), the co-sponsor of the Iranian sanctions bill that brought our enemy to the negotiating table, talks about the disaster that took place once the talks with Iran ended.

"After the Holocaust we promised 'never again,'" Kirk said. "We must keep terrorists from hurting our allies and our nation," the North Shore Republican added.

(Photo) Northern water snake

While walking along the shore of Big Bend Lake in Des Plaines, Illinois I heard some rustling in reeds and the cause of that commotion was two northern water snakes.

While not poisonous, these snakes can inflict a painful bite. The saliva of these serpents contains a mild anticoagulant--the bites can be bloody. But American snakes are like bees--you don't bother them and they won't bother you.

Related post:

Four Corners Furtherance: My rattlesnake sighting

(Photo) 1962 Volkswagen Beetle

Even when they were common, the Volkswagen Beetle seemed otherworldly.

Here's a 1962 VW Beetle in white and purple that I saw parked on Rand Road in Des Plaines, Illinois yesterday.

Vintage street sign: Gun Club Road and US Route 6

When I take pictures I sometimes discover something else of interest during my pursuit. As was the case of this photograph east of Morris, Illinois during my autumn trip along the old Illinois & Michigan Canal.

Not only is the street sign of a classic design, take a look at the cross street of US Route 6 here: Gun Club Road.

Related posts:

I&M Canal NHC at 30: Morris

(Photo) US Route 6 in Channahon, Illinois

(MSNBC video) Hillary faces new questions about authenticity

The panel on MSNBC's Morning Joe discuss the lack of authenticity of Hillary Clinton. For instance, the 'spontaneous' meeting at a LeClaire, Iowa coffee shop included a former Barack Obama campaign volunteer who was driven to the event.

(Video) Hillary didn't take a question or do an interview throughout Iowa rollout

The fawning coverage by the mainstream media of Hillary Clinton's now fabled "Scooby van" trip across Iowa left out something that Fox News didn't miss.

Watch as Ed Henry tells Bill O'Reilly that the woman who probably views herself as the modern Joan of Arc didn't take a question or do an interview during her Hawkeye State journey.

Muslims drown 12 Christians in Mediterranean Sea

Shocking barbarity on the high seas took place recently in the Mediterranean Sea.

From AP:

Italy's migration crisis took on a deadly new twist Thursday as police in Sicily reported that Muslim migrants had thrown 12 Christians overboard during a recent crossing from Libya, and an aid group said another 41 were feared drowned in a separate incident.

Palermo police said they had detained 15 people suspected in the high seas assault, which they learned of while interviewing tearful survivors from Nigeria and Ghana who had arrived in Palermo Wednesday morning after being rescued at sea by the ship Ellensborg.

The 15 were accused of multiple homicide aggravated by religious hatred, police said in a statement.

NotReadyForHillary: Campaign to accept lobbyist and PAC contributions

After spending the last couple of days claiming to be a regular person who hangs out with regular people, Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign revealed that unlike the Obama campaign, hers will accept contributions from lobbyists and political action committees.

Of course the Clinton Foundation, that political slush fund that masquerades as a charity, will continue to collection contributions from foreign governments.

America: Do you really want four years of this crap?

(CNN video) Only openly socialist senator mocks Hillary for immigrant claims

Yesterday Hillary Clinton lied again--this time about her all of grandparents being immigrants. It turns out three out of four of hers were born in the United States.

Earlier today on CNN, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the only openly socialist member of the Senate, ribbed HRC for that comment.

SEIU spending millions of dues money on minimum wage protests

SEIU bosses at Occupy Chicago rally

The radical Service Employees International Union was the impetus behind today's allegedly widespread fast food worker strike that called for a $15-an-hour minimum wage.

From ABC 7 Chicago's Chuck Goudie:

According to federal records, the SEIU has spent nearly as much on its fight for a $15 minimum wage as it did in 2008 when the union spent $28 million helping get Barack Obama elected president.

As low-wage worker protests spread across Chicago, dozens of other big cities and college campuses, the demonstrations culminate a three year plan by SEIU.

For the SEIU, it is a plan that has been elaborate and very expensive, backed largely by the dues that its two million members pay. That plan cost nearly $50 million the past two years.

According to 2014 Labor Department records filed by SEIU officials, the union spent $24 million in that year alone on eight support organizations aimed at increasing wages for fast food and retail workers.

What's in it for SEIU? In the extremely unlikely event the leftist union organizes millions of retail and fast food workers, they will be able to deduct dues money from their paychecks.

What's in it for the members of the SEIU?

I don't know. Maybe SEIU members need a union to protect them from their union.

Reagan: Democrats see every day as April 15

Ohio, IL

While campaigning for reelection in 1984, Republican Ronald Reagan, the greatest president of the 20th century, compared his party to the Democrats:

"The main difference between ourselves and the other side is: We see an America where every day is the Fourth of July. They see an American where every day is April 15th."

True, very true. Think about that the next time you are voting.

Related posts:

• Report from Tampico, Illinois on Reagan's 100th birthday
• Marathon Pundit's Ronald Reagan Trail

Business-as-usual: Another little-heeded fast food worker strike today

As I awakened this morning I learned that there would be another nationwide fast food worker strike today. Just as will previous strikes, I will drive past a dozen or so fast food outlets and I'll see that it is business as usual at these restaurants.

And just who will be these hundreds or-so strikers demanding a $15-an-hour wage for fast food workers?

Full time leftists, that's who. And the radical SEIU is subsidizing these grass-root worker walk outs.

Related post:

On this day in 1955: First McDonald's Corporation restaurant opens

On this day in 1955: First McDonald's Corporation restaurant opens

Rebuilt first McDonald's,
Des Plaines, IL

Okay, maybe the food served there isn't overly nutritious, but McDonald's is one of the most successful business ventures ever. The first corporate-owned McDonald's restaurant opened sixty years ago today in Des Plaines, Illinois. McDonald's employs nearly two million people and it's the world's largest fast food chain. No one gets rich working there, of course, but it's a first job for many.

Jay Leno worked at a McD's for two years.

Oh, no where else but America could have given birth to McDonald's. Yes, this nation is exceptional.

(MSNBC video) Only openly socialist member of Congress criticizes Hillary's campaign

America's only openly socialist member of Congress, Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT)  derided the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton today on MSNBC, criticizing her lack of substance and observing that no one knows what she's running on.

Sanders is considering running for Democratic nomination himself. I hope he does--because the Vermonter is the true face of the Democratic Party, although he is nominally an independent.

Voters need to know what the Dems really stand for.

And other than being a woman, what is Hillary's message?

(Video) Timeline of Corruption from the Stop Hillary PAC

Hillary Rodham Clinton's record for corruption goes back an astounding forty years.

From the Stop Hillary PAC:

Non-union: Tesla paying $25 an hour for battery plant new hires

Nevada is the Silver State but workers hired at the new Tesla battery factory will strike gold.

The next time some union goon tells you that workers have to belong to a union to earn top dollar tell them about Tesla.

From the Detroit Free Press:

Tesla Motors plans to pay an average hourly wage of $25 at its huge battery factory under construction near Reno, Nev., the head of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada said.

That is higher than nearly all automakers in the U.S. are paying new hires and nearly double what most parts suppliers pay. It's also above the $17 starting hourly wage of Tesla workers who assemble its Model S sedan in Fremont, Calif., near San Jose.

Tesla is building a massive battery plant called the Gigafactory in the desert east of Reno, and is planning to hire 6,500 workers over the next eight years.

In the Sunday edition of the Reno Gazette-Journal, Mike Kazmierski, CEO of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, said Tesla's pay scale is driving up what existing and new employers in the area are paying.

(Video) Witness to Lincoln assassination appears on TV quiz show

On this day in 1865 John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln--one of the greatest tragedies in American history. And 91 years later, on the TV show I've Got A Secret, the last eyewitness to the shooting at Ford's Theater in Washington, Samuel J. Seymour, told his amazing story.

At first, Seymour explained, he simply thought Booth innocently fell out of a balcony.

One of the show's panelists was Lucille Ball--but she didn't get to query Seymour because his secret had already been exposed.

Think about this amazing fact: This man was old enough to remember the Civil War yet he lived 11 years after the atomic bombs dropped on Japan ended World War II.

Seymour died at that age of 96 two months after he appeared on I've Got A Secret.

Not again! Scientific American asks, "Have we passed the point of no return on climate change?"

Lake Michigan

Once again the esteemed experts are playing chicken-little on global warming. This time it's Scientific American: "Have we passed the point of no return on climate change?"

I hope we have only so these experts can finally shut up.

Related post:

Global warming news: Chicago ties 1875 record for coldest February