From Fortune: How Detroit plans to become this summer’s vacation hotspot

Southwest Detroit

As one of the few people who admits to spending a summer vacation in Detroit--I did so last year--I can tell you with complete confidence that the Motor City is not for everyone. Now if you enjoy urban exploration, better known as "ruin porn," then Detroit is for you.

But Michigan and its largest city are reaching for more. From Fortune: How Detroit plans to become this summer's vacation hotspot.

From my post at Da Tech Guy:

I walked its streets--the tragedy of Detroit.

(Video) Trump calls ABC reporter Tom Llamas "a sleaze"

In a morning news conference about his chariatable contributions to charity, presumptive Republican nominee called ABC News reporter "a sleaze."

“What I don't want is when I raise millions of dollars, have people say– like this sleazy guy right over here from ABC, he's a sleaze in my book," the political newcomer said.

The sleaze, ABC's Tom Llamas, was heard by other members of the press corps, "Why am I a sleaze?"

Trump struck back. "You're a sleaze because you know the facts and you know the facts well."

As entertaining and informative that was, Al Baldasaro, a veteran and a New Hampshire legislator managed to do the unthinkable--he topped Trump in attacking the media.

"I think the liberal media, and I've been dealing with you for a long time, needs to get your head about of your butt--focus on the real issues," Baldasaro told them.

Thank you for your service then and now, Al.



Trump Autumn is coming.

71% of Democrats say they will still vote for Hillary if she is indicted

With liberals it's always The Cause, there is no right or wrong as long as The Cause advances. That cause can be government-run health care, global warming, taxing "the rich," or a combination of all of them. While Bill Clinton was still president, In the 1990s Fox News host Sean Hannity would remark about who he called the True Believers, "If a video tape exists of Bill Clinton murdering someone," he would say," that would not be a problem for the True Believers because they approve of the job Clinton has done as president." I might not have gotten the wording exactly right, but I think you got my point.

The ends always justify the means with these people. That explains, according to pollster Rasmussen Reports, why 71 percent of Democrats believe that Hillary Clinton should remain in the presidential race even if she is indicted for crimes surrounding her Emailgate scandal.

Chiraq: 6 dead and 63 wounded over Memorial Day weekend

Memorial Day is always bloody in Chicago. In 2015 a dozen people were shot to death in Chiraq and 50 were wounded. This year there were only six fatalities--but 63 shootings.

As with last year Chicago's Put Down the Guns Day kicked off the three day weekend.

While there were fewer murders during 2016's Memorial Day weekend, where some of them occurred deserves notice. Half of the homicides happened in three normally quiet Chiraq neighborhoods, Portage Park, West Rogers Park, and Lincoln Park. About that last one: A fifteen-year-old was killed while riding in a car on Lake Shore Drive at Fullerton in a drive-by shooting. Her boyfriend, who was wounded, is a documented gang member and a convicted felon--he's 28.

However, the deceased teen's mother told ABC Chicago, "All this killing is so stupid." So are her parenting skills.

Not included in the murder tally is a woman who was killed by a passing vehicle on Lake Shore Drive about ten blocks south of the teen girl's death while she was fleeing armed robbers.

I suspect that Batman's nemesis, Ra's Al Ghul, will decide soon to condemn Chicago and declare, "It is beyond saving."

As is almost always the case the bulk of the weekend shootings occurred on the West and South Sides.

On this day in 1916: Battle of Jutland begins

The largest naval battle of World War I began on this day in 1916 as the British Royal Navy and the Imperial German Navy faced off of the coast of Denmark in the Battle of Jutland. When the battle ended the next day both sides claimed victory, the British lost more men and ships, but the Germans remained cornered in the North Sea, unable to threaten the supply lanes to the British Isles.

Which means it was a strategic victory for the British.

Related posts:

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

(Video) CNN panel slams Clinton over IG report on emails

Not even Hillary Clinton's mainstream media echo chamber is falling for her feeble explanations for her email server scandal.

Watch as a CNN panel says their peace.

Memorial Day 2016: Pullman Veterans Monument

Next to George M. Pullman School--on the 11300 block of South Forrestville--sits a monument dedicated to the men of this historic Far South Side Chicago community who made the ultimate sacrifice in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan.

Remember on Memorial Day that freedom is not free.

(Video) Wallace destroys Dem rep over Hillary's emails: "I expect more from you"

US Rep. Adam Schiff  (D-CA) doesn't even measure up to the low-level of being an empty suit--he's a discarded pair of soiled undershorts.

This morning on Fox News Sunday, when asked about the devastating inspector general's report on the third-rate email Hillary Clinton used as Barack Obama's secretary of state, Schiff tried to repeatedly tried to change the subject by bringing up Colin Powell, George W. Bush's SoS.

But host Chris Wallace wasn't having any of it.

Hillary Clinton is running for president. Colin Powell is not running for president. The rules in 2004 were completely different. They're complete different guidelines. Sir, the guidelines were repeatedly strengthened in 2005, in 2006, in 2007 — 20011. Hillary Clinton was operating in a different world. Can we please stay to the issue of what Hillary Clinton did or didn't do and not talk about Colin Powell?

Schiff kept trying to change the conversation and fall back on his Democratic talking points.

Which led Wallace to respond:

I — I think, first of all, we’ve shown that it is — it is different. And, secondly, I think it's, frankly, a red herring, sir, and I would expect more from you.

Yes a red herring. Oh, if you wish to purchase a red Donald Trump hat, click on the Amazon ad below. The Blogger Laureate of Illinois makes a tiny commission and it costs you nothing extra.

From Da Tech Guy: Totalitarianism on the rise and free speech under attack at DePaul

I turn to last week's anti-conservative riot for my weekly post at Da Tech Guy: Totalitarianism on the rise and free speech under attack at DePaul.

Day after fatal Chiraq Lake Shore Drive shooting woman killed by car while fleeing robbers

Near Lake Shore Drive and Ontario

Early this morning a woman was killed by a car while she and her boyfriend were fleeing armed robbers at Ontario Street on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago--the man was injured. About 24 hours earlier a teen girl was shot to death while riding in a car on the same busy road.

This part of Chiraq is not in the 'hood. Navy Pier is within walking distance of today's attack and the area where the teen was fatally wounded is near Lincoln Park Zoo and the most popular part of Chicago among the hipsters that Mayor Rahm Emanuel is trying to lure to the city to offset its pension bomb and its population exodus.

Chiraq: 15 shot on Put the Guns Down Day

Friday was Put the Guns Down Day in Chicago and the city responded in predictable fashion--people were shot. Fifteen of them, but amazingly there were no fatalities. But things got worse after midnight--three people died of gunshot wounds, including a 15-year-old girl who was riding in a car on Lake Shore Drive at Fullerton. That's in Lincoln Park, which is considered one of the safest neighborhoods in Chiraq. It's also a popular tourist destination.

The mother of the teen victim told the media that she planned to move out of Chicago in a year.

Chicago is the only city among America's biggest municipalities to lose population last year.

XTC: No Thugs in Our House

XTC moved into a new direction on its fifth album, 1982's English Settlement, exploring pastoral themes. Overall it's a more introspective work than with the British new wave band's previous albums.

"No Thugs in Our House" is a link to its raucous earlier days. In the song the band skewers naïve parents who refuse to believe their precious child is a brutal criminal.

It was during the aborted tour to support English Settlement that the band's leader, Andy Partridge, suffered a nervous breakdown on stage. XTC never toured again.

Of my favorite bands from this period XTC was the only one I never saw live.



Oh, for those of you who think I posted this video because "thug" has become a dog-whistle word for black, the thug in the song, Graham, is clearly a white Briton.

Classic car: 1958 Plymouth Belvedere

While driving home from work one night last week I needed to fill up my gas tank. Look what was already parked there--a bright 1958 Plymouth Belvedere.

Its owner said that this was the vehicle featured in the Stephen King film Christine. However, I though that one was a Plymouth Fury.

But they are already leaving: Rahm says guv's veto of Chicago pension bill tells taxpayers to "take a hike"

Chicago's South Side earlier
this month

Illinois state law currently prevents municipalities and other local government agencies to declare bankruptcy, which is allowed in 24 other states. Rep. Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) proposed a bill last year to make the Prairie State the 25th, but Democrats, who are the party of government unions and not the taxpayers, oppose changing the law because union contracts can be dissected and shredded under a bankruptcy.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday vetoed a bill that would have saved Chicago $843 million over five years and staved off what Mayor Rahm Emanuel has called an “unnecessary tax increase” — by giving the city 15 more years to ramp up to a 90 percent funding level for police and fire pensions.

Top mayoral aides were livid. They likened it to a "declaration of war" on Chicago and Emanuel, akin to President Gerald Ford flatly declaring in 1975 that he would veto any bill calling for "a federal bail-out of New York City" and instead proposing legislation that would make it easier for the city to go into bankruptcy.

More...

After the veto, Emanuel said in a statement: "With a stroke of his pen, Bruce Rauner just told

every Chicago taxpayer to take a hike. Bruce Rauner ran for office promising to shake up Springfield, but all he's doing is shaking down Chicago residents, forcing an unnecessary $300 million property tax increase on them and using them as pawns in his failed political agenda."

But taxpayers are already taking a hike, Rahm. Chicago was the only one of the nation's biggest municipalities to lose population last year. The city's population is the lowest it's been since 1920 and Houston may knock Chicago into fourth place among US cities in a decade or so.

Rauner vetoed the bill because Chicago has been "kicking the can" down the road on pensions for decades and that such fiscal irresponsibility needs to end.

UPDATE May 30:

The General Assembly was able to override Rauner's video. The can gets kicked. Again.

(MSNBC video) Morning Joe’s panel apoplectic over Clinton’s continued lies over email server

The liberal echo chamber on MSNBC is angry Hillary Clinton's continued lying over her the use of her home-brewed email server while serving as Obama's secretary of state.

(MSNBC video) Focus group rips Clinton for being "above the rules,” and "not being transparent”

Watch as a focus group rips Hillary Clinton for being "above the rules" and "not being transparent."

Detroit 2-year-old shot in head during argument over spilled drink

Cleveland Smelley apparently is a much worse person than his name indicates. He allegedly shot two two-year-old McKenzie Oldham in the head just south in Detroit. The toddler is in grave condition.

From CBS Detroit:

Smelley got into an argument with the girl's father, according to investigators, at around 7:40 p.m. Wednesday outside of a home on Fairmount Drive, in a neighborhood along Kelly Road just south of 8 Mile roads.

The father and daughter were sitting in a car when Smelley took out a gun and fired one shot, according to police. The bullet missed the man he was arguing with, but hit the little girl in the head. The father rushed the girl to the hospital, but authorities said Thursday morning that she had died from her injuries.

Neighbors have said the fight was sparked by a spilled drink.

"Back in the day if there was a fight, the winner went to jail and the loser went to the hospital. Now it seems that the winner, we end up getting in custody and the loser ends up in a casket," Assistant Police Chief Steve Dolunt told WWJ. "I'm tired of that. And especially when it comes to kids, I have no use for an individual that would have total disregard for a child’s life."

Breitbart: Journalist arrested outside Milo mayhem event tells his story

Breitbart's Lee Stranahan interviewed my friend Jeremy Segal, better known as Rebel Pundit, about Tuesday's anti-conservative riot at Chicago's DePaul University: Journalist arrested outside Milo mayhem event tells his story.

Chiraq man who brutally beat "Walking Man" with baseball bat charged with misdemeanor

With all of the shootings in Chicago it's possible that a person who brutally beats an elderly homeless man with a baseball bat and then try to throw him 20 feet to the ground could only be charged with a misdemeanor.

I'm not a lawyer, but wouldn't attempted murder be a more appropriate charge? It's just a thought.

Oh, Friday is Put the Guns Down day in Chicago. I hope that the accused wasn't celebrating early.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Misdemeanor charges have been filed in the beating of Joseph Kromelis, a fixture on downtown Chicago streets who is known to many as "The Walking Man."

Perry McCarlton, 41, was charged with reckless conduct even though Kromelis was reluctant to press charges, police said.

Kromelis told police he was on Lower Wacker around 11 a.m. Tuesday and said "Hi" to someone he passed. That man began punching and hitting him with a bat, police said.

A Central District sergeant responding to a battery call saw McCarlton straddled over Kromelis, struggling with the bat, according to a police report. A witness told the sergeant the suspect also tried to throw Kromelis over a railing to the pavement about 20 feet below

UPDATE 7:30am: I heard on WLS-AM that because Kromelis isn't pressing charges, authorities can't charge McCarlton with anything more serious. Again, I'm not a lawyer. On the other hand, what if Kromelis was beaten so badly that he ended up in a coma?

Related post:

Homeless "Walking Man" brutally beaten with baseball bat midday in downtown Chiraq

#TrumpAutumn: Trump clinches GOP nomination while Dems slog on

Political newcomer Donald J. Trump has gathered the necessary 1,237 delegates to clinch the Republican nomination, AP is reporting this morning. His nomination has been all but assured for about a month--and you can arguably, barring an indictment, make the same claim about Hillary Clinton.

But Trump grabbed his crown first.

Be ready: Trump Autumn is coming.

Homeless "Walking Man" brutally beaten with baseball bat midday in downtown Chiraq

Downtown Chicago

A homeless Chicagoan known as "The Walking Man" who looks a bit like another Chicago native, actor Bruce Dern, made the nearly fatal mistake of saying "Hi" to a man midday yesterday in downtown Chiraq.

From the Chicago Tribune:

His name is Joseph Kromelis. He's a street peddler who prefers to keep to himself and walk the city, every day and in every kind of weather. "It's just a way of life for him," said his sister-in-law, Linda Kromelis, from Michigan.

That's what Joseph Kromelis was doing around 11 a.m. Tuesday when he was attacked. He told police he was on Lower Wacker and said "Hi" to someone he passed. That man began punching and hitting him with a bat, Chicago police said.

A Central District sergeant responding to a battery call saw the attacker straddled over Kromelis, struggling with the bat, according to a police report. A witness told the sergeant the suspect also tried to throw Kromelis over a railing to the pavement about 20 feet below.

School president "ashamed for DePaul" over anti-conservative riot

DePaul Student Center, where
Nero spoke

The Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, president of DePaul University in Chicago, in a letter denounced the antics of leftist protesters at Tuesday's anti-conservative riot that took place when author and Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos, also known as Nero, was forced to cut short his speaking engagement at the nominally-Catholic college.

When did "Father Holt" find his backbone? The late Thomas Klocek could have used such verve when he battled the politically-correct liberal mafia at DePaul a decade ago.

Holtschneider is in France but he saw the video where a leftist whackjob grabbed a microphone from the moderator of the event.

From his letter:

Yesterday's speaker was invited to speak at DePaul, and those who interrupted the speech were wrong to do so. Universities welcome speakers, give their ideas a respectful hearing, and then respond with additional speech countering the ideas. I was ashamed for DePaul University when I saw a student rip the microphone from the hands of the conference moderator and wave it in the face of our speaker.

(Video) Black Lives Matter radical takes swing at conservative activist at DePaul

Breitbart writer, author and prominent conservative Milo Yiannopoulos, also known as Nero, attempted to speak at Chicago's DePaul University yesterday. Black Lives Matter and anti-free speech extremists forced Yiannopoulos to cut his address short after they took over the stage

One  screaming BLM whacko took a swing at Yiannopoulos, who by the way is openly gay.

And I thought that college campuses welcomed diversity. Silly me.



The man who led what can accurately be called an anti-conservative riot, Edward Ward, is an ordained minister with ties to DePaul, which is nominally a Catholic university.

Earlier post:

Rebel Pundit arrested at DePaul University anti-conservative riot

State Dept faults Hillary for email debacle

Keep in mind that the State Department is of course still is run by Democrats.

What's not said in the report is how many enemy agents and criminals hacked into Hillary's third-rate email server.

From AP:

Hillary Clinton disregarded various State Department guidelines for avoiding cybersecurity risks, an internal audit found Wednesday.

The inspector general's 78-page analysis, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, cites "longstanding, systemic weaknesses" related to the agency's communications. These started before Clinton's appointment as secretary of state, but her failures were singled out as more serious.

Despite guidelines to the contrary, Clinton used mobile devices to conduct official business on her personal email account and private server. She never sought approval from senior information officers, who would have refused the request because of security risks, the audit said.

"By Secretary Clinton's tenure, the department's guidance was considerably more detailed and more sophisticated," it concluded. "Secretary Clinton's cybersecurity practices accordingly must be evaluated in light of these more comprehensive directives."

Rebel Pundit arrested at DePaul University anti-conservative riot

DePaul University

Early Monday morning two DePaul University students were robbed at gunpoint by three thugs on its Lincoln Park campus on Chicago's North Side on the corner of Belden and Bissell Street, one of the safer parts of Chiraq. One of the alleged assailants was nabbed by DePaul authorities, the other two are at large.

Last night there was protest just a block away from the site of the robbery. About campus safety? Nope. Because a conservative, Milo Yiannopoulos of Breitbart, tried to speak at an event sponsored by the Catholic college's Republican organization. Black Lives Matter activists stormed the stage and the event had to be cut short. My good friend Rebel Pundit was arrested filming protesters outside the of the hall. Arrested for what? He doesn't know yet and as of this hour he's still in jail, which is a pretty scary place in Chicago for someone who is clearly not a criminal.

Meanwhile there are two campus armed robbers on the loose. But DePaul, which I've had run-ins with, is safe from a conservative filmmaker.

Related post:

Justice denied for former DePaul Professor Thomas Klocek

Anti-Trump radicals throw rocks and bottles in New Mexico amid rumors of gunshots

Marathon Pundit in
New Mexico

As punishment New Mexico authorities should dump these leftists in the middle of the desert and forget about them.

From CNN:

Albuquerque police say bottles and rocks were thrown at a Donald Trump rally there Tuesday night, shattering a glass door as tensions between protesters and police escalated.

Despite initial word of gunshots, Albuquerque's police department said on Twitter that there was "no confirmation" of gunshots.

"There is no confirmation that any gunshots were fired, contrary to reports. Possible damage to Convention Center Windows by pellet gun," the department tweeted.

AP says burning T-shirts--oh, fire spreads, you know--were thrown by the loons, trash cans were overturned, and barricades were overrun.

If Trump loses in November America will become a banana republic.

Chiraq hate crime: Man says "I hate 'expletive' white people" while stabbing and robbing victim

Chicago's Wild 100s

I expect the Rev. Jesse Jackson to fly in from his home in Chicago to protest this hate crime.

Wait...Jesse already lives in Chicago.

From the Chicago Tribune:

A Far South Side man has been charged with a hate crime in an attempted robbery where a man was stabbed Sunday night on the Washington Street Bridge in the West Loop neighborhood.

Leroy Willis, 45, of the 11000 block of South Wentworth Avenue, was charged Tuesday morning with one felony count of aggravated battery, one count of a hate crime and aggravated attempted robbery, police said.

The victim said he had stopped to look at the Chicago River shortly after 11:30 p.m. Sunday, when a man rushed up, stabbed him twice and said, "I hate 'expletive' white people. Give me your wallet."

The victim started yelling, prompting a passersby to call 911 while he tried to grab the steak knife from the attacker and slammed him to the ground, holding him until officers arrived, according to a police report.

Coincidentally I was just a few blocks from the racist creep's home earlier that day. It's part of the area of Chicago known as the Wild 100s. It's an apt moniker. Near the site of where the picture on top was taken an obese thug in an Indianapolis Colts shirt chased after me while screaming "Hey buddy! Hey buddy!"

He was not my buddy.

Urban exploration is dangerous--which is why I always have a planned escape route in mind while I snap photographs.

Clintonista VA governor and friend to felons McAuliffe under investigation

Longtime Clinton bagman Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic governor of Virginia, is under federal investigation. A Chinese

From CNN:

As part of the probe, the officials said, investigators have scrutinized McAuliffe's time as a board member of the Clinton Global Initiative, a vehicle of the charitable foundation set up by former President Bill Clinton.

There's no allegation that the foundation did anything improper; the probe has focused on McAuliffe and the electoral campaign donations, the officials said.

Spokespeople for the Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, McAuliffe said he was "shocked" by the investigation and that it "has nothing to do with the Clinton Foundation."

A Chinese national, Wang Wenliang, contributed $120,000 to McAuliffe's campaign. Foreigners are barred by law federal law from contributing to campaign funds. Wenliang also contributed $2 million to the Clinton family slush fund, formerly known as Clinton Foundation.

McAuliffe, a chief fundraiser for Bill Clinton in the 1990s, "personally secured the loan" for the Clinton family mansion in Chappaqua, New York.

Last month McAulliffe issued an executive order allowing 200,000 Virginia felons to vote in this fall's election--presumably, for Hillary Clinton.

While in Detroit Hillary says Trump's policies will bankrupt America

Abandoned Corktown home, Detroit

While pandering to union members in Detroit yesterday, Hillary Rodham Clinton claimed that the economic policies of Donald Trump will "bankrupt America."

Well, shortly after Detroit's last Republican mayor left office in 1962, liberal Democrat Jerome Cavanagh signed into law a commuter tax and a municipal income tax. Detroit's first black mayor, Coleman Young, not only was a race-baiter he was a onetime member of the Communist Party. His economic record made Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev look like a Yankee capitalist.

As for Clinton's old boss, Barack Obama, federal debt has doubled since he took office.

From my post at Da Tech Guy:

I walked its streets--the tragedy of Detroit.

(Video) Hispanics for Donald Trump

Despite media claims that presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is a racist and that all Hispanics hate the political newcomer, some Hispanics support him.

Watch this video from the Right Side Broadcasting Network. Are the people in the video paid actors. No, RSBN put out a call on Twitter and Facebook.

Chiraq: 5 killed and at least 40 wounded over weekend

Over the lat full weekend before Chicago's Put The Guns Down day--that's on Friday--the gunplay intensified. Five people were shot to death, including a city worker killed on Friday leaving a Starbucks two blocks from police headquarters. At least 40 others were wounded. As I reported earlier, on Saturday over a 90-minute stretch one person was killed and another nine people were shot in Chiraq.

Remember: Put the guns down. Especially you street gang members

Sing it live next time! Anger over woman's tape played while gay men's chorus "performed" anthem

I'm confused. I thought it was okay to be transgendered. Also, if the chorus actually sang the anthem at last night's San Diego Padres game, there wouldn't have been a problem.

From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

The San Diego Gay Men's Chorus is calling for an investigation of a mixup that occurred at a San Diego Padres game Saturday night, when a recording of a woman's voice was played over 100 male chorus members who took the field to perform the national anthem.

The anthem is not always performed live, and this was an instance where a taped version was to be played with the performers on the field. Saturday was scheduled as a "Pride Night" game, aimed at engaging lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender baseball fans. Members of the chorus said they were shocked and embarrassed by the incident, and want to find out how it happened.

"I really want to believe that it was an error," said Bob Lehman, executive director of the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus. "But the first thought was, did they do this on purpose?"

Investigation? Puh-leaze!

(Video) Gingrich: Hillary faces huge problems within her own party

There's a civil war going on within the Democratic Party, Newt Gingrich said on Fox News this morning. And it seems to be a three front war--Hillary Clinton versus Bernie Sanders and the Vermont socialist against the chair of the Democratic Party, the acidic Debbie Wasserman Schultz

From Da Tech Guy: Welcome to the era of hate crime hoaxes

We've entered a new societal epoch and it's not good news. From my weekly post at Da Tech Guy: Welcome to the era of hate crime hoaxes.

Hillary accuses Trump, a billionaire, of being controlled by gun lobby

Well, Hillary Clinton has always been delusional. She famously blamed the Monica Lewinsky scandal on "a vast right wing conspiracy."

From CNN:

Hillary Clinton on Saturday slammed Republican rival Donald Trump as a politician beholden to the gun lobby and said a Trump presidency would mean "more kids at risk of violence and bigotry."

Uh, no. Hillary. And Trump, a billionaire who has largely self-funded his historic campaign for the presidency so far, isn't beholden to anyone.

Chiraq: 1 dead and 7 wounded in 90 minutes

Englewood last month

It's just just six days before Put the Guns Down Day in Chicago. Meanwhile tonight in just 90 minutes--between 6:10 and 7:38 pm--one person was shot to death and another seven people were wounded. The fatality happened in a familiar place--the violent Englewood neighborhood on the South Side. The West Side and elsewhere on the South Side is where the other shootings occurred.

What? No Packard Plant? CBS Detroit lists top five Instagram worthy spots

The former Packard plant in Detroit

CBS Detroit is among the CBS affiliates listing the top five Instragram worthy spots in the Motor City. They are Detroit Institute Of Arts, Comerica Park, Belle Isle State Park, The Henry Ford, and the Detroit Zoo.

As you know I was in Detroit last summer--the Blight Capital of America offers far more, of course not everyone is an urban explorer.

Here are some of my choices:

• (Photos) Part one: Detroit's abandoned Packard Plant
• (Photos) Part two: Detroit's abandoned Packard Plant
• Part three: Detroit's abandoned Packard Plant
• Detroit: Crumbling factory next to a cemetery
• (Photos) Abandoned homes near Detroit's Telegraph Road
• (Photos) Detroit's abandoned Fisher Body 21 plant
• (Photos) Sign on Detroit home warns of crackheads
• (Photos) Detroit's scavenged Harry B. Hutchins School

Elvis Costello, with Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch: The Scarlet Tide

Whenever I hear "The Scarlet Tide" by Elvis Cosello this lyric always reminds me of Illinois politics.

Man goes beyond his own decision, gets caught up in a mechanism
Of swindlers who act like kings and brokers who break everything.

House Speaker and state Democratic party boss Mike Madigan--I'm looking at your direction as people continue to flee the Land of Lincoln, especially your base in Chicago.

The song was co-written by T-Bone Burnett. Yes, he's much more than a producer.

Singing back-up with The King in this Grand Ole Opry performance is Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch.

(Video) Inside The Reagan Library: Ronald Reagan's Faith

The greatest president of the 20th century was a man with a deep faith in God.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum looks back at how religion shaped our 40th president.

Related posts:

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

Chiraq: City worker gunned down walking out of Starbucks two blocks from police headquarters

The gangbangers aren't just killing people in Englewood or Austin anymore. While Bronzeville on the South Side is hardly a safe neighborhood--this fatal shooting occurred in daylight just two blocks from Chicago Police headquarters.

Clearly Chicago's street gang members believe they can act defiantly and get away with it.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

A "completely innocent" woman outside a Starbucks at 35th and State was shot and killed Friday afternoon, while another man, a gang member who was the intended target, was critically injured in a shooting just down the block from Chicago Police headquarters that shows "how brazen" the most violent people in the city have become, Chicago's top cop said.

"This incident right here highlights what I've been saying for the past month and a half about how brazen these violent offenders are," Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said at news conference shortly after the shooting. Coincidentally, Johnson and his top brass had been holding a news conference at police headquarters about a mass arrest of gang members around the time of the shooting.

Nelson, of the 4900 block of South Vincennes, was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she died at 4:33 p.m., authorities said. She had been a communications operator for 311 City Services since 2002, according to a statement from the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

Guns aren't the problem in Chiraq--street gangs are.

(Video) Former army chief Ray Odierno: "I don't know" what our strategy against ISIS is

This morning on Barack Obama's favorite cable news outlet, MSNBC, former army chief Ray Odierno said, "I don't know" what our strategy against the Islamic State is.

Other than running out the clock I suspect that Obama doesn't know either.

With a President Trump--my prediction is that Americans will know what his plan to defeat ISIS is.

Truck driver shot in 20th Chiraq expressway shooting in 2016

Dan Ryan Expressway on Sunday

On Sunday a couple from Waukegan were killed in a murder-suicide on the Kennedy Expressway on Chicago's North Side. Shortly before midnight a semi-truck driver was shot on the Dan Ryan Expressway on the South Side--he's in critical condition.

Last night's crime was the 20th expressway shooting so far this year in Chiraq.

ILL-inois: Harvey mayor fined $10K for "fraudulent bond offerings"

Illinois' Blogger Laureate,
Marathon Pundit, in Harvey

Uh oh. Chicago's most corrupt suburb, Harvey, is back in the news. And that's a bad thing.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Harvey Mayor Eric J. Kellogg has agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and never again participate in a municipal bond offering to settle civil fraud charges stemming from a hotel development scheme.

"Through the 2008, 2009, and 2010 Bond Offerings, Harvey engaged in a scheme to divert bond proceeds for improper purposes," according to the complaint filed by the Securities Exchange Commission. "As part of the scheme, Harvey made misrepresentations and omissions to investors about how bond proceeds would be used and the risks associated with investments in Harvey's municipal bonds."

The purported purpose of the bond offerings was to provide funding to develop and construct a Holiday Inn Hotel, the SEC alleges. The bonds were to be repaid from tax revenue streams dependent upon the existence of the hotel, such as Harvey's hotel-motel tax and sales tax.

But instead of using the money raised through the bond offerings on the hotel project, city officials diverted at least $1.7 million in investors’ money into the city's general operation accounts, including payroll, the SEC said.

That's it? A fine?

Well, Harvey will be back in the news again soon, I guess. Why? Because it's Harvey.

Related posts:

• Fox Chicago: "Insolvent" Harvey IL is worse than broke
• (Photos) Abandoned homes in the corrupt city of Harvey, Illinois
• (Photos) Abandoned homes in the corrupt city of Harvey, Illinois, part two

Federal investigation target Hillary claims Trump not qualified to be president

Hillary Clinton, the target of an FBI investigation because her mishandling of classified data because she insisted on using her home-brewed email server while serving as Barack Obama's secretary of state has the gall to say that Donald Trump is unqualified to be president.

Clinton has big-time hubris.

Marathon Pundit is the Blogger Laureate of Illinois

Because I realized the title is vacant I decided to seize it for myself.

John Ruberry, the Marathon Pundit, is the Blogger Laureate of Illinois. I stand for truth, justice, and the American Way.

Red Gate Woods, Willow Springs, Illinois

ILL-inois: Houston poised to pass Chicago in population in 10 years

Abandoned West Side
Chicago home

High crime, high taxes, and a self-serving and inept government continue to take their toll on Chicago.

And before you call me a racist for spreading this news, it is blacks who are leading the exodus out of Chiraq and ILL-inois.

Until the early 1980s Chicago was America's second-most populous city.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Chicago, the only city among the nation's 20 largest to see population loss in 2015, could be overtaken in a decade by Houston as the third-most-populous city if the trend continues, experts said.

The city of Chicago lost about 2,890 residents between 2014 and 2015, bringing the city's population down to 2,720,546, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Numbers made available in March showed the greater Chicago area, which includes the city and suburbs and extends into Wisconsin and Indiana, lost an estimated 6,263 residents — the greatest loss of any metropolitan area in the country.

The population decline in the Chicago metropolitan area is the first since at least 1990, according to census data.

Related posts:

• (Photos) Abandoned homes in Chicago's violent Austin neighborhood
• (Photos) The abandoned homes of Chicago's violent Back of the Yards neighborhood
• (Photos) Abandoned homes in Chicago's violent East Garfield Park neighborhood
• (Photos) Abandoned homes in Chicago's most violent neighborhood--West Garfield Park
• (Photos) Abandoned homes in Chicago's violent North Lawndale neighborhood
• (Photos) The abandoned homes of Chicago's violent Englewood neighborhood
• (Photos) Abandoned homes in Chicago's violent Auburn Gresham neighborhood
• (Photos) The abandoned homes of Chicago's violent West Englewood neighborhood

#TrumpAutumn: Trump leads Hillary in two national polls

It appears that Trump Autumn will be glorious. Two national polls, one from Fox News and one from Rasmussen Reports, shows Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton in a head-to-head match-up.

The Fox poll has the political newcomer leading Clinton by 45-42 percent--which is within the poll's margin of error--a month ago Hillary was leading 48-41 percent.

Rasmussen has Trump leading 42-37 percent.

For first time since 1850 Detroit not among top 20 American cities

Abandoned SW Detroit home

What was that I heard about the comeback of Detroit?

From the Detroit News:

For the first time since before the Civil War, Detroit is not among the nation's 20 most populous cities.

Detroit's population was 677,116 as of last summer, a loss of 3,107 residents from the previous year, according to estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

That's the smallest decline in decades, but it was enough to drop the city to 21st in the nation, surpassed by Seattle, Denver and El Paso, Texas.

The last time Detroit wasn't a Top 20 city by population was the 1850 census, when it ranked 30th, according to the bureau. In 1940, it was the fourth largest city behind New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.

From my post at Da Tech Guy:

I walked its streets--the tragedy of Detroit.

Chiraq: 20 shot, two fatally, in 16 hours

The carnage continues in Chicago. Over a 16 hour period yesterday and early this morning 20 people were shot in Chiraq, including a 12-year-old-boy. Two of these shootings, both in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side, were fatal. A young couple was shot in the West Loop in a car chase that started on Lake Shore Drive.

Next week Chicago plans a series of "Put the Guns Down" rallies, the third year it has done so. 

Of course the gun violence will continue despite the dog-and-pony-show. I suggest instead a "Kick the Gangbangers out of Chicago" movement.

Good for him: Trump uses "rape" word against Bill Clinton

My early support for Donald J. Trump raised some eyebrows among many of my friends--but Fox News' Hannity tonight one of the reasons I decided to jump on the Trump Train this winter was brought to the forefront of the battle for America.

Trump is a street fighter--which is what the Republican Party desperately needs. Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Bob Dole were gracious losers--and the anything-but-impartial media still tore them into pieces.

Not only is Trump a fighter--but the first-time candidate is not afraid to kick someone in the balls--and that is what he did tonight when host Sean Hannity asked the billionaire about a recent New York Slimes hit piece.

From the Daily Mail:

Hannity then asked why the Times hadn't dug into Bill Clinton's past.

'Are they going to interview Juanita Broaddrick? Are they going to interview Paula Jones? Are they going to interview Kathleen Willey?' Hannity asked, ticking off the names of women who have accused Bill Clinton of inappropriate behavior through the years.

'In one case, it's about exposure. In another case, it's about groping and fondling and touching against a woman's will,' Hannity continued.

'And rape,' Trump inserted.

There is credible evidence that Bill Clinton is a rapist.

Would Ted Cruz bring that up? Probably not. Marco Rubio? Ditto. John Kasich? No way.

The Trump Train aims to run over its enemies.

Good.

(Photo) Former Chicago garbage dump now a beautiful golf course

For decades a massive trash landfill operated north of Lake Calumet and east of the Bishop Ford Freeway on Chicago's Far South Side.

Look at it now. It has been the Harborside International Golf Course since 1995.

Chicago alderman removes plagiarized neighborhood histories from his campaign site

From the Lopez Facebook page

He never did get back to me, but Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez (15th) removed the neighborhood histories that he or a staff member apparently plagiarized from Encyclopedia of Chicago.

It's another victory for Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

Related post:

Exclusive: Chicago alderman uses unattributed neighborhood histories on his campaign website

#CopActionsMatter: Evanston cop uses tourniquet to save wounded teen's life

A quick-thinking Evanston police officer saved a teens's life last night. The race of the victim isn't mentioned in the article, but the shooting occurred in a predominately black part of the liberal Chicago suburb.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

An Evanston police officer used a tourniquet last month to help save a 17-year-old boy’s life after the teenager was shot in the northern suburb.

At 2:33 p.m. April 21, officers responding to a call of a person shot in the 1900 block of Jackson Avenue found the teenager bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound to the leg, according to Evanston police.

One of the first officers at the scene, Officer William Arzuaga from the department’s problem solving team, applied a tourniquet in an attempt to stop the bleeding, police said. The teenager was then taken to NorthShore Evanston Hospital, where it was learned that the bullet severed an artery and required extensive surgery.

#AllLivesMatter.

Arzuaga is an Air Force veteran.

Feds might seize pensions of crooked Detroit school principals

Abandoned Detroit high school

Most of those charged are former DPS school principals.

But they are still "for the kids."

From the Detroit News:

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit says it may go after the state pensions of 13 former and current Detroit Public School officials after they have been sentenced for their crimes in a $2.7 million bribery scheme.

Gina Balaya, spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, said Tuesday the federal government still does not have legal standing to request the forfeiture of their pensions, as previously reported by The News.

"However, once the defendant has been sentenced and restitution ordered by the district judge, the government can and will take steps to enforce the restitution order, which may include garnishment of their pensions," Balaya said.

Related posts:

(Photos) Detroit's Abandoned Caroline Crosman Alternative High School

(Photos) Detroit's scavenged Harry B. Hutchins School

Sanders beats Hillary in Oregon

Sure she won in Kentucky--barely--but Hillary Clinton went back to her losing ways by being defeated by that septuagenarian socialist, Bernie Sanders, in the Oregon Primary.

Hillary avoids Kentucky kalamity with narrow win

Marathon Pundit at Mammoth Cave

The former First Lady is crawling towards the finish of the Democratic primary process. Barring a criminal indictment she'll probably make it, but she'll face a feisty and fresh Donald Trump this fall.

From the Lexington Herald-Leader:

Hillary Clinton squeaked out a narrow win over Bernie Sanders Tuesday in the Democratic presidential primary in Kentucky, a state she had won overwhelmingly in 2008 against Barack Obama.

With 99.7 percent of the precincts counted, Clinton led by about 1,800 votes.

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes' office said at 10:30 p.m. that 769 votes in two precincts in Jefferson County had not yet been counted.

Even if Sanders captured all those votes, he could not catch up with Clinton, Grimes’ office said.