Monday, February 29, 2016

Office of US Rep. Danny K. Davis and three murders at Fohrman Motors

There are many vacant lots in Chicago's East Garfield Park neighborhood, including one that takes nearly two-thirds of the 2700 block of West Madison Street. That empty space was the home of Fohrman Motors, where in 1966 Ed and Sid Fohrman, along with a sales manager, were shot to death by a disgruntled customer described by the Chicago Tribune years later as "a crazed ex-convict on barbiturates."

West of the lot is the office of US Rep. Danny K. Davis (IL-7th), a congressman of little distinction who is best know for his role in the "coronation ceremony" at the US Capitol of the Reverend Sun Myung in 2005, where he declared himself the messiah, as well as his trip to Sri Lanka a year later--which was funded by the Tamil Tigers terror organization. 


Forhman Motors was founded by Benjamin Fohrman, who was viewed as an innovative and pioneering car dealer. Ed and Sid were his sons. Older relatives of mine tell me that Forhman's folksy television ads were common fare on local television, which made the triple murder more shocking. People who never stepped foot into the dealership felt a kinship with the Fohrman brothers.

Donald Dean Jackson, the killer, purchased a car from the dealership but subsequently crashed it. An insurance policy bought at the time Jackson bought his car would have covered most of the damages but the killer wanted a replacement and came to Fohrman to "shoot the bosses." The murderer died in a shootout with police shortly afterwards.

After the killings rumors were spread that Forhman Motors charged a usurious 51 percent loan to Jackson; he was given a fair rate for a used car at the time of 15 percent. As the Forhmans were Jewish there was an anti-Semitic bitterness to the gossip. Ebony, on the other hand took a somewhat more sympathetic view to the murderer in an article published shortly after the crimes titled "The Pitfalls of Credit Buying."


On the west side of Davis' office is a mural or Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton, also known as "Chairman Fred." Three years after the Fohrman murders Hampton and fellow BPP member were gunned down in am early morning raid by Cook County Sheriff's Department police officers at the direction of State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan. Ninety-nine shots were fired by the cops--just one, and maybe not even one, came from inside the apartment. The police were looking for a stockpile of  illegal weapons. Hanrahan and 13 other law enforcement officials were indicted for obstructing justice but were acquitted. In 1972 many blacks abandoned Democrat Hanrahan and voted for his Republican opponent, Bernard Carey. Hanrahan was defeated and his political career was effectively over, he was once seen as a possible successor to Mayor Richard J. Daley.

Four months before his death, Hampton told the Chicago Sun-Times, "I am at war with the pigs." That November on the South Side two Chicago police officers and a Black Panther member were killed in a shootout.

The Panthers sought to forge alliances with street gangs and they were Marxists, the latter could explain the Hampton mural outside Davis' office. Congressman Davis is a former member of the socialist New Party, which also backed Barack Obama early in his career.

History isn't that hard to find--you just have to know where to look.

Related post:

(Photos) Abandoned homes in Chicago's violent East Garfield Park neighborhood

Chiraq: None in custody as 2 people murdered and at least 24 others wounded over weekend

It was an inauspicious weekend as Chicago  went past the century mark in murders for 2016. It was in mid-April last year when that deadly milestone was reached.

Also this weekend two people were murdered and at least 24 others were wounded in shootings mostly on the south and west sides. NBC Chicago is reporting that so far no one is in custody for these crimes.

Related post:

Chicago posts its 100th homicide nearly 2 months earlier than in 2015

Sunday, February 28, 2016

AL senator Sessions hops on Trump Train

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump collected another major endorsement today--this time it's popular conservative Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL).

Watch here:


More from Breitbart:
But all those endorsements pale in comparison to Sessions' backing of Trump, as the Alabamian senator is universally respected—and feared—inside the beltway in Washington. Sessions is known for his tough views on immigration and trade and has repeatedly aimed to push the Republican Party in a more populist, nationalist direction. Sessions has helped frame the movement’s views on both issues—and more, like courts and judicial nominations, law and order and police matters, and on budgetary issues and the fiscal well-being of America—while maintaining a formidable political and policy operation that his allies view as invaluable and his enemies dread.

From Da Tech Guy--Anarchy in the USA: Trump, America’s first punk rock president

Yes, we may have a punk rocker on his way to the White House. From my weekly post at Da Tech Guy: Anarchy in the USA: Trump, America’s first punk rock president.

Chicago posts its 100th homicide nearly 2 months earlier than in 2015

Police camera on the West Side
Last year Chicago didn't hit the 100 homicide total until mid-April. But 2016 is far deadlier as that sad benchmark was reached this weekend. Last month 57 people were killed in Chicago and in February so far there have been 40 homicides.

In 2015 there were 488 murders in Chicago.


Saturday, February 27, 2016

Former AZ governor joins Trump Train

Grand Canyon
The last full week February ends on an up note for Donald Trump. Former Arizona governor Jan Brewer, a long time proponent of securing our southern border, endorsed the Republican frontrunner.

From the Daily Caller:
For years I pleaded with the federal government to do their job and secure our border. Today, we can elect a President who will do just that – Donald J. Trump. Mr. Trump will secure our borders, defend our workers and protect our sovereignty. Mr. Trump will stand for our law enforcement, our police and our immigration officers. Mr. Trump will actually enforce the rule of law," Brewer said.

She touted Trump's status as a "Washington outsider" as a positive trait because it means, "Mr. Trump gets it. He will listen to the people and fight for the citizens of the United States."

Brewer concluded with a dark warning about what might happen if The Donald doesn't become America’s next president.

"This may be our last chance to ensure our children grow up in a country with borders, and with a government that protects its own people. This is our chance – Donald Trump is our chance – to save this country and Make America Great Again," she said.

Hillary wins South Carolina

Hillary Clinton, who suffered a stinging defeat at the hands of Barack Obama in the South Carolina Primary in 2008, evened her score today as she clobbered Bernie Sanders in the same race today. As HRC is expected to do well on Super Tuesday, in which many other southern states vote, she may be on the verge of putting the old man to bed.

Betting site predicts Trump will win 390 of 595 Super Tuesday delegates

As this is an unconventional presidential election perhaps it's time to look beyond the political experts and at sports betting sites to make sense of Super Tuesday. After all, the pundits have been proven wrong many times about the Republican race and to a lesser extent on the Democratic counterpart.

Sports Betting Dime is predicting the Donald Trump will cash in on 390 of 595 available GOP delegates whereas they predict Hillary Clinton will nab 750 of the 1,004 Democratic delegates up for grabs in four days.

The site has odds on gobs full of other possibilities, including VP picks. Jeb Bush is 450-1 to be Trump's pick while Rudy Giuliani is 75-1. That last one is a sucker's bet because the Constitution forbids a presidential nominee and a running mate from being from the same state.

Marshall Crenshaw: Monday Morning Rock

Not your typical Detroit rocker, Marshall Crenshaw's musical inspiration comes from the British Invasion, particularly the Rubber Soul era Beatles.

Watch and listen Crenshaw perform "Monday Morning Rock."

ILL-inois: Chicago State University sends layoff notices to all 900 employees

Lake Michigan on
Chicago's South side
Chicago State University is located not too far from the home of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Party who doesn't allow any legislation onto the floor of the state house unless he approves it.

While CSU won't close and not all 900 employees will be laid off, this news is another black eye for Illinois.

Madigan, who has been House speaker for 30 of the last 32 years, is in an eight month-long budget battle with Bruce Rauner, the Republican reformer who in 2014 became the first Illinois governor to win a majority of the vote since 2002.

From ABC Chicago:
Staff could be cut at Chicago State University in the next couple months if state funding isn't received, CSU officials said Friday, emphasizing that the South Side university will not close.

CSU President Thomas J. Calhoun Jr. said all of the university's 900 employees will receive a notice about possible layoffs if the state does not approve a budget. By law, the public university needs to issue a notice to employees about layoffs at least two months ahead of time.

"Today is notice to employees that if we are unable to recover any state appropriations, there will be layoffs," Calhoun said.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Christie, Maine governor hop on the Trump Train

Donald Trump gained some more momentum as he picked up a couple of endorsements, including a big one--former presidential candidate Chris Christie. Also, Maine's Republican governor, Paul LePage, announced he is supporting the business's run for the White House.



Trump's support 10 points higher? Ex-Mexican president Fox says Donald reminds him of Hitler

Go away, Vicente
Last night during the GOP debate on CNN, Donald Trump--who I support for president by the way--said that former Mexican president Vicente Fox's F-bomb comments about the wall he wants to build "just got 10 feet taller, believe me."

Today Fox told CNN's Anderson Cooper, "I mean, he reminds me of Hitler."

With that comment Trump's support might have just jumped by 10 percentage points.

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! - Trump 2016 Unisex-Adult Adjustable Cap Beautiful Embroidered Text (Red)

(Photos) Orland Grassland in winter

Former farmland in Orland Park, Illinois has been transformed into native prairie by the Cook County Forest Preserve District--the Orland Grassland. I visited yesterday morning.


A couple of inches of snow fell the day before. In the distance is an oak savanna.


Nebraska? Oklahoma? No, Orland Park.


Here is one of many beaver lodges on one of the ponds in the grassland. Or is this a muskrat lodge?


Most of Illinois looked like this, during winter of course, prior to European settlement.


The grassland is a birder's paradise, I saw a Cooper's hawk during my visit.


Trees are pretty even without leaves.

IBD op-ed: Washington Post becomes unhinged on Trump

One item that Investor's Business Daily loves about Donald Trump is that the left detests him.
It's almost fun to watch them squirm and even become unhinged at the idea of Trump becoming the Republican nominee, let alone the occupant of the Oval Office. The Washington Post’s latest anti-Trump tirade was classic media bias on full display.

It tells the GOP leadership to "do everything in your power" to stop the "unthinkable" of a Trump presidency from happening because it signifies the "debasement of the party." He is "a menace" and a "bullying demagogue," the Post hisses.

OK, they’re certainly entitled to their opinion. But then the editorial turns vile and vapid: "He would round up and deport 11 million people, a forced movement on a scale not attempted since Stalin or perhaps Pol Pot."

Really? Trump is another Stalin or Pol Pot, the butchers of millions and millions of people? Amazingly, the left always talks about raising "the level of discourse" in America and then they write this slur of a candidate who has the support of millions, if not tens of millions of voters.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

War on Coal: 100 layoffs in downstate Illinois

Affordable Energy Means
American Jobs
Barack Obama's War on Coal is claiming more casualties.

From the Southern Illinoisan:
American Coal Co. has announced another round of layoffs at one of its Galatia mines, a company official confirmed.

"The American Coal Company confirms that it was forced to lay off 101 employees, effective Feb. 14," a spokesman for parent company Murray Energy Corp. said in an email.

As with previous announcements, the company blamed Obama administration environmental regulations and greater use of natural gas for electricity production. The company also blamed "outright prohibitions on the use of coal by electric utilities."

Last year, American Coal laid off 250 workers at its Galatia mines. The company plans to close one of those mines, New Era, by mid-year as coal reserves run out.

Mizzou fires leftist anti-free speech communications professor

The communications professor who is against free speech, or at least speech that she disagrees with, has been canned.

From the Kansas City Star:
Melissa Click, a University of Missouri assistant professor who called for "some muscle" to remove a student reporter from a protest on the Columbia campus, has been fired, the university announced Thursday.

The university system’s Board of Curators suspended her in late January and hired a law firm to investigate her conduct. The board voted 4-2 Wednesday in a closed session to dismiss her, said Pam Henrickson, the board’s chairwoman.

"The board went to significant lengths to ensure fairness and due process for Dr. Click," Henrickson told members of the media Thursday afternoon. "The board believes that Dr. Click's conduct was not compatible with university policies and did not meet expectations for a university faculty member."
Last week a video surfaced of Click cursing at police officers during the Mizzou homecoming parade. Yep, homecoming.

Everything is political with leftists. Everything.

Don't feel bad for her. With her stellar radical left wing credentials she'll quickly land another college gig where she can indoctrinate gullible youths or she'll be hired by the lunatic asylum known as MSNBC.

Gunfire heard every four hours at Detroit hotspot

Abandoned home near
8 Mile Road
More evidence that Detroit's comeback is illusory.

From the Detroit News:
Lionel Robertson says his east side neighborhood is relatively quiet — besides the gunfire every four hours.

Robertson, a 20-year-old Ford Motor Co. assembly line worker, has lived almost his entire life near Eight Mile and Gratiot in the 48205 ZIP code, an area regarded as among the city’s most violent.

Hillary confuses Constitution with Declaration of Independence

Hillary Clinton took part in a softball interview on the Steve Harvey Show yesterday and while answering a question about guns she talked about "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness being in the US Constitution.

Sorry Hillary, that phrase is in the Declaration of Independence. 


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

MI treasurer says Detroit Public Schools close to payless paydays

Abandoned Detroit school
And people still claim that Detroit "is back."

From the Detroit News:
The Detroit school district is teetering on the brink of payless pay days and financial disaster, but declaring bankruptcy is not a viable option, State Treasurer Nick Khouri told lawmakers Wednesday.

The Legislature must act on a legislative rescue package, Khouri said.

"When the district runs out of cash, which is coming up quick without legislative action, there will be payless pay days," he told the Michigan House Appropriations Committee in Lansing.
"If bankruptcy were declared, that could be six to 12 months of pure chaos and nearly $100 million going to bankers and lawyers," Khouri added.

As for the chaos, it's not as if students are learning that much now in DPS schools.

Clinton backs closing Gitmo and bringing jihadis to America

In a CNN town hall last night Hillary Rodham Clinton said that she favors closing the Guantanamo Bay jail and bringing them to the United States.

Americans overwhelmingly oppose that.




(Video) Obama’s AG: Federal funds can't be used to transfer Gitmo detainees to US soil

In testimony today in front of a House of Representatives committee, Attorney General Loretta Lynch affirmed what Rep John Culberson (R-TX) told her. Federal funds cannot be used to transfer terrorist detainees out of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and onto American soil.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Trump wins Nevada Caucuses

Lake Mead National Recreation Area
near Las Vegas
It's another win for GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. Although reports of voting irregularities may tarnish tonight's victory in the Nevada Republican Caucuses, the New Yorker is poised for a big Super Tuesday next week as he's very popular among voters in the southern states that dominate next week's contests.

Deal with it: Barring a catastrophe Trump will be the Republican nominee for president. And his attacks on Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz are just a warm up for his assaults on Hillary Clinton this autumn. After all, neither man has the prospect of a federal indictment looming over them, or the responsibility for the deaths of four Americans killed during their watch.

Felon Harvey IL alderman arrested for assaulting city worker

Abandoned home in Harvey
As I've remarked several times, when Chicago south suburb Harvey is in the news it's almost always a bad thing.

And Harvey is back in the news. Uh oh.

From ABC Chicago:
An alderman in suburban Harvey was arrested for allegedly assaulting a city worker. The attack was caught on a security camera and that alderman has been in trouble with the law before.

Alderman Lamont Brown was arrested by Harvey police and held for just over an hour Tuesday afternoon. He is a suspect in an assault case now under investigation by the Cook County Sheriff's Department.

"I feared for my life because he has a background," said Samuel Patterson, a Harvey city worker.

Patterson was on his lunchbreak inside the gas station on 147th Street. The surveillance camera video - with no sound - shows a man in a top coat that Harvey police identify as 4th Ward Alderman Lamont Brown following Patterson around the store.
Last year Brown won election to Harvey's City Council despite having pleaded guilty in the 1990s to selling narcotics and possessing a stolen vehicle. Illinois law prevents convicted felons from holding an elected municipal office but there is no mechanism in place to ferret out these lawbreakers.

In a democracy voters get the government they deserve.

Related posts:

Big pension bomb looms: Bankruptcy didn't solve all of Detroit's financial problems

Downtown Detroit
Detroit's 2013 bankruptcy left behind a significant unresolved pension problem.

From the Detroit Free Press:
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan painted a picture of progress and at the same time significant challenge ahead for the Motor City, saying during his third State of the City address Tuesday night that property values are up, people are moving back in and blight is being removed at a record pace.

But he also said there's a major financial cloud looming in the form of a $490-million pension shortfall the city will have to begin paying in 2024 that could take a significant chunk of the city’s budget and potentially derail reinvestment in critical city services.

"We're going to have to address this problem," Duggan said to an audience of hundreds at Second Ebenezer Church just off of I-75 and McNichols for the invitation-only speech. “We’re not asking anybody for a bailout. … This wasn;t a problem of our making, but we're going to manage it."

Duggan's harshest comments of the address were against consultants who advised the city through its unprecedented Chapter 9 bankruptcy, who he said were paid $177 million for their work, "and once they're out of town there's a $490-million hole."
Kudos to Duggan for bringing this problem now, instead of kicking the can down the road as has been done in the past in the Motor City, as well as in Illinois.

Judge rules Chicago red-light tickets void

Chicago's Northwest Side
Chicago's corruption-ridden red-light camera program was never about safety, it was just another way to pick the pockets of the people who live there or visit and to enrich dishonest government workers. And those cameras arguably make city streets more dangerous as people wishing to avoid a $100 ticket slam on the brakes at a yellow-light rather than pass through a clear intersection.

And the Chicago may have to start writing checks totaling hundreds of millions of dollars to the victims of municipal avarice and graft.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:
Chicago violated the "fundamental principles of justice, equity and good conscience" by denying due process to motorists issued red-light camera and speed-camera tickets, a judge has ruled, declaring those tickets "void."

In a harshly worded ruling handed down late Friday, Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy kept alive a lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions dollars in refunds for motorists ticketed since 2003 after City Hall "skipped a step" mandated by the city’s own municipal code.

The lawsuit filed nearly a year ago accused the Emanuel administration of violating the requirement to issue a second notice of violation before issuing a determination of liability against motorists issued speed-camera and red-light camera tickets.

The suit further alleged that the city failed to specify the make of the vehicle and that city notices indicate that late penalties will be assessed if payment is not received within 21 days of a liability determination, when a 25-day grace period is required by law.
Chicago officials will of course appeal but they might as well get used to the idea that thousands of people are owed refund checks.

Chicago looks at tearing down abandoned buildings to fight crime

Abandoned home West
Garfield Park
I'd like to think my continuing series on abandoned Chicago homes series has something to do with this move by the CPD.

From Fox Chicago:
Chicago is taking steps to make parts of the city safer by tearing down vacant buildings.

People who live in some of the worst areas hit by high crime say the abandoned buildings attract gangs and drugs.

Tuesday, the Chicago Police Department and the city's Department of Buildings are expected to announce the fast-track demolition of vacant buildings in an effort to make Chicago communities safer. Officials say the plan uses numerous tools to fight crime and stop gangs from using these vacant buildings as centers for illegal activity.
Related posts:

(Video) Kerry: Given "the vulnerability of our system," I would not let State Dept Staff use private server

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) asked Secretary of State John Kerry if he employees can used private and personal email systems for official business. Kerry replied, that given "the vulnerability of our system," he would not let them do so.

What does Hillary Clinton have to say?



Obama presents plan to shutter Gitmo prison 7 years after he vowed to close it

Obama was president for two days when he signed an executive order to close the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay within a year.

Seven years later it's still open. I'm glad that Obama executive order didn't pan out.

Today Obama presented a plan to close Gitmo which he says will save taxpayers money. Wow, Obama the deficit king is finally a budget hawk. As for the destination for the jihadists, Obama's proposal says there are thirteen potential domestic sites.

Keep 'em in Cuba.

Twitter's war on Robert Stacy McCain continues: SexTroubleBook account suspended

Patriot Robert Stacy McCain, an opponent of radical feminism, finds himself at war with Twitter's Ministry of Truth, which it calls the Trust and Safety Council. McCain's role in Gamergate has angered many, including anti Gamergater Anita Sarkeesian who is on that council

On Friday his main Twitter account, @rsmccain, was suspended. His secondary account on the micro-blogging service, @SexTroubleBook, was suspended on Monday.

When leftists can't win an argument they change the rules so they can win. If that doesn't work they end they game and declare themselves the winner.

McCain is the author of Sex Trouble: Essays on Radical Feminism and the War Against Human Nature.

Monday, February 22, 2016

(Video) Biden in 1992: President should "not name a nominee until after the November election"

President Obama's leftist defenders are attacking Republicans for their belief that with less than a year left in his term, he should leave the choice to nominate a replacement for Antonin Scalia to his successor.

But in 1992 then-Sen. Joe Biden spoke on the Senate floor and said that the president should "not name a nominee until after the November election."


(Photos) Abandoned homes in Chicago's violent East Garfield Park neighborhood

Last Thursday I did some more urban exploring--this time in another one of Chicago's notorious violent neighborhoods, East Garfield Park.

According to the Chicago Tribune over the last thirty days it was the third-most violent of Chicago's 77 designated community areas. But there is hope for the area because gentrification may be coming soon.


The abandoned apartment building on the left on the 2700 block of West Monroe alludes to Psalm 23:4 in the Bible.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.


East Garfield Park's population peaked in 1950 when 70,000 people lived there, now just 20,000 do. These homes are on the 2900 block of West Adams Street.


On the 2700 block of West Washington Street is the Wolfson House. It's mostly boarded up. Back in the day it must have been a mansion, but a woman I spoke with who lives in the two flat on the right said that it was a homeless shelter until recently. "Inside it," she exclaimed, "you'll see a complete mess. Just cleaning it up will cost a fortune."


From this angle it looks a bit more inviting. "Sometimes," the neighbor added, "I see a light inside, I think that place is haunted."


That's a Cuban flag in front of the occupied row house. Up until very recently nearly 100 percent of the people living in East Garfield Park were native born African Americans. The last Census showed a three percent white population and a four percent Hispanic population.

Believing realtors who claim a bad neighborhood is gentrifying is risky, but yes, it is. A bit. I saw a few hipsters in East Garfield Park who clearly lived there--they walked into homes, parked  their cars in garages. Oh, about hipsters: that's a dog whistle word real estate agents use for "white people." Although black people of means live there too. To the east is the Near West Side, which has seen much gentrification and higher property values. And according to the Census, the population plummet in East Garfield Park may be bottoming out.

Were it not for Chicago's pension crisis--which just forced a huge property tax hike with possibly more to come, I'd predict a bright future for this area.


Those hipsters won't find fine wine at Rothschild Liquors at 3015 W. Madison. The panhandlers out front scattered when I started taking photographs. I gave them nothing--I mean, where do you think that money will go? To buy a cup of coffee? One woman, who was just out of camera view kept shouting at me, "Whatcha takin' pitchers fo?

Notice that the windows to the liquor store are long-gone.


Unlike West Garfield Park there aren't many Chicago greystones in its eastern counterpart but I found a boarded-up one behind Rothschild's.


Boston? Brooklyn? Nope, Warren Boulevard in Chicago. This stretch of rowhouses is a block to watch.


Not so glamorous is the 3400 block of West Walnut.


People throw trash on the ground where I live in suburban Morton Grove. Either the people in Chicago are bigger slobs or no one bothers to pick the rubbish up. Although this cat that I found behind the house on the right above doesn't seem to mind the garbage.


Across the street sits a police camera box. There was a lot of traditional police activity near here during my visit too.


Not only does the Eisenhower Expressway pass through East Garfield Park so do the Green and Blue Line CTA el trains. Yes, crime is a huge problem here, but the neighborhood is well served with transportation choices.

Above is are the elevated Green Line tracks on Lake Street.


This Victorian mansion at 3329 W. Washington is the former home of the Philadelphia Missionary Baptist Church, which is now located next door in newer and larger quarters.


On the corner of Fifth and Whipple not only will you find the former Ben's Hot Dog Stand but on the left you'll see this quote, "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die," which is attributed here to Benjamin Franklin but there is no proof he ever said or wrote it.


Behind the now-closed Sky Box Sports Bar where they used to "Cater to Party's" (sic) at 3601 W. Harrison is a burnt-out building where the view is not so good.


The jewel of the area is the Garfield Park Field House--sorry about the lack of color but I was facing the sun when I took this photograph--and the nearby conservatory.

Next: US Rep. Danny Davis' office and a 1966 triple murder at a car dealership.

Related posts:

Chiraq: 3 dead and at least 29 wounded over weekend

It was another violent weekend in Chicago with shootings all over the city, including a three year old who was wounded on the South Side. Overall there were three fatal shootings this weekend and at least 29 others were wounded.

Happy birthday, George Washington

The father of our country--and our first president--was born on this day in 1732. Happy birthday, George Washington!


This Washington statue stands outside Old Mariners Church in Detroit.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Since changed Detroit Free Press headline: Kalamazoo rampage among the worst Uber incidents

It's reassuring to know that mass shootings are not part of the Uber experience, but at least initially a Detroit Free Press headline writer didn't seem to know that about the popular ride sharing service. A Free Press article reports on last night's deadly shooting spree in western Michigan killed six people; the original headline was, "Kalamazoo rampage among the worst Uber incidents." The articles banner as of tonight reads "Kalamazoo rampage the worst known Uber incident." That's an improvement but are there some unknown even deadlier Uber-related crimes?

Here's my Tweet:

Robert Stacy McCain: A patriot's Twitter account is suspended

Earlier this month Twitter announced the formation of the Trust & Safety Council, which is dominated by leftists, to police the conversation on the micro-blogging site.

Two days ago, although he's not sure why, Robert Stacy McCain's Twitter account was suspended. The Ministry of Truth may be behind it.

McCain has been covered in great detail the #Gamergate controversy.

(CNN video) Clinton: Voters question if I am in it for myself

Even Hillary Clinton is aware that many people are believe that she is in the presidential race only for herself.

From Da Tech Guy: Zimbabwean newspaper poster says "Mugabe’s birthday is like that of Jesus Christ"

In my weekly post at Da Tech Guy I look at a madman who has brought ruin to the nation he mis-rules: Zimbabwean newspaper poster says "Mugabe’s birthday is like that of Jesus Christ."

Uber driver suspected in mass killing in Kalamazoo

Horror came to western Michigan last night.

From MLive.com:
Six people were killed and two people seriously injured by a lone gunman in three separate random shooting incidents that began at around 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, in outside a townhouse in Richland Township. The next shooting happened at Seelye Automotive on Stadium Drive at around 10 p.m. and the third at the Cracker Barrel restaurant at I-94 and 9th Street at about 10:15 p.m.

Getting said there appears to be no connection between the victims at the three locations, who were apparently shot only because of their availability to the shooter.

Authorities have not discovered any additional shooting incidents between the first two, nor between the third shooting and the arrest of Jason B. Dalton, 45, the lone suspect arrested in the mass shooting spree, who was taken into custody at around 12:40 a.m. Sunday.

A Kalamazoo County sheriff's deputy spotted the Chevrolet HHR that Dalton was driving leaving the parking lot of a bar in downtown Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officers were able to quickly pull Dalton over "without incident" on Ransom Street between Porter and Walbridge streets downtown's near north side.

On this day in 1916: Battle of Verdun begins

If any battle best symbolizes the futility of World War I it is the Battle of Verdun which began on February 21, 1916 and ended nearly a year later. Other than being the killing ground for about 300,000 soldiers from the French and German armies and wounding even more, Verdun, nominally a French victory, settled--nothing.

Related posts:

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Jeb suspends--make that quits--prez race

After a disappointing, some might say disastrous presidential run, former Florida governor Jeb Bush announced tonight that he is suspending his campaign. Who is he fooling? Suspending is a more palatable way for presidential candidates to say that it's over. And it is indeed over for Jeb. Buh-bye!

Trump wins SC big; Hillary gets narrow Nevada win

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Donald J. Trump scored another solid victory today in the South Carolina Primary--it looks like a double-digit triumph with Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Meanwhile in the Nevada Caucuses Hillary Clinton is the victor, with what looks to be a 53-47 win. There was speculation that her openly-socialist opponent, Bernie Sanders, would score an upset by my guess is that Clinton ally Harry Reid pushed her past the goal line with the help of his union pals.

(Photo) Demolition of an old Rush University hospital building

Rush University Hospital opened a dazzling medical center in 2011 and had no need for some of its older buildings, such as the one being demolished in the photograph I took on Thursday.

It was once the Daniel A. Jones Hospital at 1753 W. Congress Parkway and it opened in 1888. If you are on the eastbound lanes of the Eisenhower Expressway you'll see what's left of the building, but not for much longer.



Elevated tracks above Lake Street in Chicago

If this view of Lake Street at Talman in Chicago's East Garfield Park neighborhood looks familiar it could be because you recognize it from The Dark Knight. A couple miles west of here is where Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne character smashed his Lamborghini.

What you see are elevated train tracks of the CTA's Green Line above Lake Street.


In the distance you can see the onetime Sears Tower.