Illinois state police execute search warrant at Boss Madigan's office

It appears the state troopers are looking into someone other than the man who destroyed Illinois

From NBC Chicago:

The Illinois State Police executed a search warrant Wednesday at the state Capitol office of House Speaker Mike Madigan as part of a sexual harassment investigation involving a former state representative, according to the speaker's office.

According to Speaker Madigan's office, in Nov. 2018, it started investigating a complaint alleging sexual harassment between an employee and former state representative. Madigan's office determined the allegations were credible in Feb. 2019 and requested police ban the alleged perpetrator from entering the Capitol complex without an escort, according to a news release.

In March 2019, Speaker Madigan called the Sangamon County State’s Attorney to report information about possible criminal conduct. At the state's attorney's request, Speaker Madigan's office subsequently contacted the Illinois State Police about the allegations.

On Jan. 24, ISP contacted the speaker's office to request a file concerning the investigation, according to the press release from Madigan's office.

Boss Madigan has been speaker of the state House for 35 of the last 37 years. He's been chairman of the state Democratic Party for 22 years.

Mark Dice: Friendly Reminder!

What ever you do, just don't mention the name (the initials are E.C) of the whistle blower who started this impeachment insanity.

Game over? Impeachment trial could end today with Trump's acquittal

The witch hunt could might finally be over later today. Of course the House Democrats might try to impeach the president on something else.

It's called Trump Derangement Syndrome.

From the Daily Mail:

A final vote in the Senate on Donald Trump is on track to take place Friday, where the president is expected to be acquitted in the Republican-controlled chamber.

Republican Senator Lamar Alexander announced Thursday evening he would vote against calling additional witnesses, which likely doomed Democrats' efforts to call former National Security Adviser John Bolton to testify.

With no witnesses, senators are expected to wrap up the trial when they meet on Friday afternoon.

Hypocrite Democrat Illinois governor calls for end to corruption--after Madigan machine got him elected

Here's a story that is a real hoot. Illinois' Democratic governor, JB Pritzker, was the favored candidate of the political machine of Boss Michael Madigan in the 2018 party primary and of course he had the full backing of the party--of which Madigan is the chairman--in the general election.

People close to Boss Madigan are under federal investigation  The former state senator who represented the Madigan district in Springfield, Martin Sandoval, pleaded guilty to bribery and tax evasion two days ago.

Now Pritzker is calling for ethics reform to fight corruption. If he was serious he'd call for Madigan's resignation has House speaker and party chairman.

As for Pritzker, he's under federal investigation in regards to his shady move to have the property taxes on his Chicago mansion lowered.

Warren, who lied about her Indian background, wants to punish companies who spread falsehoods online

President Trump calls Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas," mocking her claim, now debunked, that she has Native American ancestry.

Others call her Liawatha.

From CNBC:

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday released a plan to fight disinformation and to hold tech companies accountable for their actions in light of the 2016 election.

“Disinformation and online foreign interference erode our democracy, and Donald Trump has invited both,” Warren said in a Tweet Wednesday. “Anyone who seeks to challenge and defeat Donald Trump in the 2020 election must be fully prepared to take this on – and I’ve got a plan to do it.”

No next of kin found but people line up out the door of the funeral home to remember Vietnam vet

Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery

It was a cold and windy day here in the Chicago area. But people lined up outside the door a northwest suburban Chicago funeral home to honor a Vietnam veteran who died last month.

His family couldn't be located.

But then there was a second family.

From NBC Chicago:

Symonds-Madison Funeral Home in Elgin had put out a call for people to attend the services for Vietnam war veteran John James Murphy because his family couldn't be found.

But he was buried with another family by his side.

"It’s a sad thing when a man like that finds himself in a situation where he’s got nobody. But then he has all of us. We’re all brothers in being veterans," said Vietnam veteran Barron Buchunas, who attended the services.

Murphy, 71, passed away on Dec. 18, an obituary on the funeral home's website read.

A procession then brought Murphy to his final resting place at Abraham Lincoln Cemetery in Elwood near Joliet.

What a moving story, this one is. God bless our veterans.

(PragerU) Is The National Anthem Racist?

USA Today columnist James Robbins replies to charges from the left that Our National Anthem is racist.

The short answer is "No."

Red-light camera crooked Chicago politician pleads guilty

Former Illinois state senator Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to tax evasion and bribery charges. And it appears he may be talking to the feds, which is probably making some other pols quite nervous.

From WGN-TV:

Sandoval is the first politician to go down in a sweeping federal corruption probe, and faces between 10 and 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to the two felony charges. He could serve less time by cooperating with investigators.

Shedding tears while his lawyer tried to comfort him during the hearing Tuesday, Sandoval said he's, “deeply ashamed of my actions."

As part of his plea agreement, Sandoval admits to using his position of power in the state senate to enrich himself, taking at least $250,000 in bribes since 2016.

What might end up being the most interesting part of all is that he's cooperating with federal investigators, although U.S. Attorney John Lausch wouldn't provide details on what information the former senator has agreed to share.

Don Lemonhead CNN panel insults Trump backers, calling them "the credulous boomer rube demo"

The elitists hate Donald Trump. You know that already. But what they hate more is the people who elected him. The ordinary American. People like yourself.

From Fox News:

A CNN panel is getting intense backlash for mocking Trump supporters as "credulous boomer rubes," even sparking fierce condemnation from President Trump and his reelection campaign.

The panel, which originally aired on Saturday night during special live coverage of the impeachment trial, featured CNN anchor Don Lemon, New York Times columnist and CNN contributor Wajahat Ali, and ex-GOP strategist Rick Wilson discussing the heated exchange Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had with an NPR reporter, in which he allegedly challenged the journalist to point out Ukraine on a blank map.

Wilson used the topic to mock President Trump as well as his supporters.

"[Pompeo] also knows deep within his heart that Donald Trump couldn't find Ukraine on a map if you had the letter U and a picture of an actual physical crane next to it," Wilson began, causing Lemon to chuckle. "He knows that this is, you know, an administration defined by ignorance of the world. And so that's partly him playing to the base and playing to their audience. You know, the credulous boomer rube demo that backs Donald Trump."

Ex-Democratic Illinois state senator charged with bribery in red-light camera scandal

It's apparent that federal authorities are involved in a wide-ranging investigation of political corruption in Illinois.

The former state senator, a close ally of longtime Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) has fingers in other scandals, including Commonwealth Edison rate increases.

From WGN-TV:

Federal prosecutors filed bribery and tax charges on Monday against a former Illinois state senator who led the powerful transportation committee, alleging he accepted payments in exchange for supporting costly red-light camera programs across the state.

The U.S. attorney's office in Chicago listed the charges against Sen. Martin Sandoval in a two-page filing in U.S. District Court. The 56-year-old Chicago Democrat “corruptly solicited, demanded, agreed to accept and accepted” payments for “continued support for the operation of red-light cameras in the State of Illinois," the document says.

The alleged bribery occurred between 2016 and 2019, when, as chair of the transportation committee, Sandoval wielded enormous influence in how state transportation funds were spent.

It's believed by other media sources that Sandoval may plead guilty soon, possibly as early as today.

Red-light cameras need to be banned.

From my post at Da Tech Guy:

Illinois red-light camera probe provides convincing evidence why they should be banned

Mark Dice: Mystery solved!

Sadly, racism exists. But it is not everywhere.

NBC’s Todd: Dems are mourning voter "apathy” on impeachment, "nobody cares”

On Meet the Depressed yesterday host Chuck Todd, a former Democratic campaign staffer, read this snipped from a Maureen Dowd column in the New York Times:"One Democratic Senate staffer mourned the apathy. 'Our phones aren’t ringing,' he told me. 'Nobody cares. It's the saddest thing ever.'"

From Da Tech Guy: Illinois red-light camera probe provides convincing evidence why they should be banned

Abolish them!

From my post at Da Tech Guy: Illinois red-light camera probe provides convincing evidence why they should be banned.

Pixies - Here Comes Your Man (Official Video)

If you don't like this song from the Pixies then I say you don't like music.

Turn it up for "Here Comes Your Man."

Hey Democrats, character, or lack of it, is not an impeachable offense

Man oh man, have the Democrats run off the rails.

From the Washington Post:

House prosecutors finished their opening arguments in President Trump’s impeachment trial on Friday, arguing that his conduct toward Ukraine reflected a dangerous reflex toward political expediency and a lack of character that will backfire on Republicans if they do not help remove him from office.

Character is not an impeachable offense.

Great new podcast series about impeachment, Verdict With Ted Cruz

Up until last night I always believed that the most dangerous place in Washington is the space between US Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and a television camera. But after listening to an episode of Michael Knowles' podcast Verdict With Ted Cruz, there's a new hazard zone in the capital. That same area between a TV camera and US Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), one of the House impeachment managers.

I learned this information while listening to the new podcast series. It was Cruz, while offering cogent commentary on the impeachment nonsense, who offered that insight. Although he was quick to add that no one is known to survive Schumer's charge to the camera.

You can subscribe to Verdict With Ted Cruz by way of Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

Giuliani: I can't sit by and watch my country be sold out by Joe Biden

Rudy Giuliani doesn't want influence peddler Joe Biden selling out America.

My LinkedIn articles

Lately I've been posting articles on LinkedIn. Of course one of them is about running, after all, I'm the Marathon Pundit.

Why not take a look?'

I work better because of my physical workouts.

What drove you to this article? The headline. Subject line has the same effect on an email for E-commerce.

E-commerce sales: Just think that the person at the other end of the email is sitting right in front of you.

Secretary Carson's take on struggling Dem run cities

The homeless problem is getting worse in America's largest cities, all run by leftist Democrats.

There are numerous tents on the sidewalks in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Mrs. Marathon Pundit is seeing them in Chicago. I even saw one in downtown Milwaukee when I was there last month.

Ben Carson talks about this problem in the below clip.

Mark Dice: Ivanka owns Jim Acosta

The president daughter gives CNN the attention he deserves.

Tucker: Biden's career bankrolled by credit card companies

Joe Biden operates like a Democratic ward boss in Chicago.

Tucker Carlson explains.

Trump campaign video: The best is yet to come

President Trump needs another term to finish what he started.

Terry Jones dead at 77

And so passes a legend.

Terry Jones, in addition to his appearing in Monty Python television shows and movies, also directed two of them, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life, and he co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

He also co-wrote and appeared in the wonderful Crusades documentary series.

Rest in peace.

From CNBC:

Terry Jones, comedy legend, screenwriter, film director and co-founder of Monty Python, has died.

Jones’ agent confirmed his death to the BBC Wednesday. He had been suffering from dementia, which was revealed to the public by his son Bill in September 2016. The condition left him unable to speak.

“We are deeply saddened to have to announce the passing of beloved husband and father, Terry Jones,” his family said in a statement. “Terry passed away on the evening of 21 January 2020 at the age of 77 with his wife Anna Soderstrom by his side after a long, extremely brave but always good humoured battle with a rare form of dementia, FTD.”

Born in North Wales, Jones went to Oxford where he met fellow comedian Michael Palin. He, Palin, Terry Gillam, John Cleese, Eric Idle and Graham Chapman went on to found the comedy troupe Monty Python.

Shop thru Marathon Pundit for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is coming. If you are looking for something for the beloved other person in your life, why not head over to Amazon and start shopping? Your beloved Blogger Laureate of Illinois receives a small commission--and you pay nothing extra.

If you purchase that gift now for you loved one, then you won't worry about forgetting Valentine's Day.

Click on the ad and start browsing!

Sen. Cornyn: Dems’ impeachment undermines "the authority of the voters to choose their president"

US Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) reminds us that the impeachment scam is about overturning the results of a free election.

Mark Dice: This is Just the Beginning

Mark Dice shows offers some liberal hypocrisy as he provides clips of mainstream media reporters in 1999 calling the Bill Clinton impeachment process a waste of time, instead, Congress should be working on the needs of the people.

Chicago Tribune staffers begging for new owners

The mainstream media has no sense of dignity. If you don't like your job, quit. If your industry is fading away, find a new field.

You are not owed a living.

Oh, note the editorializing in the third paragraph. Yet the article I excerpted from was not labeled as "opinion."

From CNN Business:

Reporters at the Chicago Tribune are trying to find a new owner for their newspaper.

They’re doing it because they’re afraid of Alden Global Capital’s plans for all of the papers owned by Tribune Publishing.

Alden, a New York-based hedge fund, recently became the largest shareholder in the struggling publishing company. Alden has a terrible reputation in the newspaper industry due to its history of slashing jobs and sucking up short-term profits from other papers it controls.

“We’re doing everything in our power to try to stop them,” Gary Marx, a 31-year veteran of the Chicago Tribune, told CNN Business.

If you feel compelled to get your message out--start a blog. It's not that hard to do.

(PragerU) How To End White Privilege

Brandon Tatum, a former police office, offers unique thoughts on "white privilege" in the latest PragerU video.

3 killed and at least 13 others wounded in weekend shootings in Chicago

Englewood last week

Despite the biggest snowstorm so far this year the gunplay continued in Chicago.

Of the three homicides a woman was standing in a vacant lot in Englewood on Friday when three men got our of a car and shot her. She was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. '

On Saturday two men were fatally shot five minutes apart in separate incidents--one in Austin on the West Side and the other in Avondale on the Northwest Side.

At least 13 others were wounded city-wide.

From Da Tech Guy: Review of the Netflix series Thieves of the Wood

Do you need more Robin Hood in your life? Maybe this show is the answer to your problem. From my post at Da Tech Guy: Review of the Netflix series Thieves of the Wood.

Pictures from the Women's March Chicago 2020 that you won't find in the mainstream media (contains graphic images)

It's back. The anti-Donald Trump Women's March. If you haven't already you'll see fawning coverage from the mainstream media, "journalism" that omits the crazies in attendance. And there were a lot of them today in downtown Chicago.

Okay, harmless stuff right? Being caricatured comes with the office of the presidency. Ask Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. But let's turn Orange Man around.

Yes, that says "Grab them by the pussy."

"Keep your policies off my body."

"Don't be a, well, whatever, just because u have one."

I mean, really, do you folks have to lower yourselves to sophomoric pictures and antics? And yes, there were children marching as well.

Quite a few Democratic politicians were supposed to be part of this march but the only one I was saw today was US Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).

Comparing a politician to Adolf Hitler is never wise. "Germany had Eva Braun and we have Melania and Ivanka." Okay, by all historical accounts Eva Braun was a bit on the dim side. Melania Trump speaks five languages. As for the president's daughter, she's an astute business woman and a sharp political advisor. If you hate Trump, maybe you can be generous enough to say Ivanka takes after her mother.

Notice the pink pussy hat.

"Call me crazy but my idea of making America great always involved fewer Nazis."

Okay, if the president is a Nazi, he's a terrible one. Ivanka, of course who was compared to Eva Braun by the last protester, is married to an orthodox Jew. She converted to Judaism and Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, are raising the children in the Jewish faith.

And after every president since Bill Clinton promised on the campaign stump to move our embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Trump is the one who followed through.

Not a Nazi.

More Nazi stuff. "If you ever wondered what you would have done to fight the Nazis in WWII, you're doing it now."

There were street protests in Berlin when Hitler was in power? Do tell.

"Chicago check your climate racism." Global warming? Several inches of snow fell last night here. Behind here is a Chicago Streets and Sanitation salt truck.

Outside of the bile and obscenities you find at leftist rallies--staying on message is a problem for the liberals. It's been nearly 100 years since Chicago's had a Republican mayor. For decades Illinois' most powerful politician has been Boss Michael Madigan, the chairman of the state Democratic Party and the speaker of the Illinois house. If Chicago has climate racism who should we blame?

There were also signs for Black Lives Matter, refugee rights, and plenty of others about the environment. But this was the Women's March.

"No more coal." For men?

"Indigenous rights." Yes, this is a woman's march.

The E.R.A was the Equal Rights Amendment, a proposed change to the Constitution that Congress passed in 1972. Congress gave the states seven years to pass it--that deadline was extended by three years in the late 1970s. The requisite number of states didn't ratify it. Which makes the E.R.A, whatever you think of it, a dead letter. Recently three states have ratified it. Here's an idea: Re-submit the E.R.A again and start from scratch.

"Stop the Donald 2020. STD. Don't let the infection spread. Get out of our house." Trump as an STD? Sheesh.

More private parts. "Vagina brought you into this world and vagina will vote you out."

"No pussy control." Yes, he's wearing a pink pussy hat.

Hey here's a change of pace from pussies. "Public cervix announcement. Fuck you."

I never saw one profanity on a sign at the dozen or so tea party rallies I attended back in the good old days.

Yes, someone is with her. "This is my resisting bitch face."

And then it gets weirder. "Support sex workers?" Support them so they can leave it, I hope. A couple of weeks ago, near where I work, the body of a sex worker was discovered in a dumpster. She was strangled to death by one of her customers.

"Dump Trump." Yes, there is the Orange Man Bad as the lid of a toilet. With well, you see what is in the bowl.

"Suck my dick you sexist ass bitch." Really now. Is that humor? If so, it is not funny.

Warning (Live): Green Day

Little Marathon Pundit tipped me off to this little bit of Kinks news. She was watching the Jeopardy championship matchups and the answer, which the contest responded to correctly in the form of a question of course, was "Who are Kinks."

The query was "From 1968, the "Village Green Preservation Society" album is often considered this British band's masterpiece."

One of the songs on VGPS is "Picture Book." Here Green Day takes that tune's riff and for their song "Warning."

(PragerU) What Is "Fair"?

In this PragerU video Daniel Hannan notes that adults are increasingly are acting like whiny teenagers when they moan, "It's not fair."

Think of that when leftists claim that they--not President Trump--are being denied a fair impeachment trial in the Senate.

Do you still have that Amazon gift card from Christmas? Redeem it by way of Marathon Pundit

A belated Happy New Year to you!

Maybe you received an Amazon gift card for Christmas--or a birthday. Is it getting squished in your wallet? Is it siting on the bottom of your desk drawer?

Redeem it now by way of Marathon Pundit. You pay nothing extra--and I receive a welcome yet tiny commission that I plow back into this blog.

You don't have a gift card but you need to make an Amazon purchase? Then you can help out too. The same no-cost-to-you situation applies.

Click below to start! And thank you!

Five wounded, including three youths, in Chicago mass shooting at barbershop

There was another mass shooting in Chicago last night.

From Fox Chicago:

Three boys and two men were shot Thursday at a barbershop in East Garfield Park on the West Side, authorities said.

Two people walked into the barbershop about 6:15 p.m. in the 200 block of North Pulaski Road, looked around and walked back out, Chicago police said. Then they fired shots into the shop from outside.

An 11-year-old boy was hit in the back, abdomen and left arm, police said. Another boy, 16, was shot in the hip, while a third boy, 12, was struck in the knee.

They were taken to Stroger Hospital, where their conditions were stabilized, police said.

To learn more about Garfield Park, click on the below link.

Top Ten Most Violent Neighborhoods in Chicago #2 2017

Mark Dice: Oh no, anything but that!

Watch as the anti-Trump media gets tingles up their legs over impeachment.

Trump still won't be removed from office

Yawn. Oh, the aid was quickly reinstated.

From the Hill:

The Trump administration’s decision to freeze the release of security assistance to Ukraine last year violated federal law, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report Thursday.

The independent watchdog said the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) withheld the appropriated funds last summer, not as a programmatic delay but in order to advance the president’s own agenda.
Doing so, the watchdog concluded, violates the Impoundment Control Act, a law that governs Congress's role in the federal budget process.

“Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law,” the report says. “OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA). ... Therefore, we conclude that OMB violated the ICA.”

Mark Dice: The Democrat debate circus has returned

The circus has come to town! Again!

Crowd goes crazy for Trump at NCAA championship game

At last night's NCAA football championship game the president and the first lady were enthusiastically cheered.

Accused serial bank robber repeatedly released in New York because of new bail law

Here is the latest folly regarding the pro-accused criminal bail laws in New York.

From Fox News:

New York’s new bail-reform law is being blamed for the release of an accused serial bank robber who may have struck another bank after he got out of jail.

Gerod Woodbury, 42, was charged Wednesday with robbing four Manhattan banks since Dec. 30, according to reports.

After being locked up, he was sprung the next day under the new law, which did away with bail in cases involving so-called nonviolent crimes, according to the New York Post.

On Friday, just a day after being released, Woodbury made his way to Brooklyn where he robbed another bank — his fifth in a two-week span, the paper reported, citing law enforcement sources.

From my post at Da Tech Guy:

Republicans are handed a winning issue as Democrats call for and act on abolishment of cash bail

Lieberman calls out Democrats for opposing Soleimani strike only because of partisanship

Former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman--who was Al Gore's running mate in 2000--is one of the few Democrats with a sense of honor.

So it's not surprising that he blows the whistles on members of his party who are decrying the killing of terrorist Qasem Soleiman solely because of partisanship.

\

Mark Dice: Thought crime alert

Fat-shaming is rude, yes. But there are serious health care concerns facing obese people.

From Da Tech Guy, Hello Iran: When people stop believing government lies they stop believing in the government

I report on "Thrones of Lies." From my post at Da Tech Guy, Hello Iran: When people stop believing government lies they stop believing in the government.

Texas becomes first state to reject new refugees under Trump exec order

The president, sometimes directly, sometimes not, does follow through with his campaign promises.

Such as getting tough on the border.

Chuck Berry and John Lennon: "Memphis, Tennessee" and "Johnny B. Goode"

In 1972 John Lennon and Yoko Ono served as a week-long co-host on the milquetoast Mike Douglas show. One of their guests was another rock legend, Chuck Berry. They performed a couple of Berry classics, "Memphis, Tennessee" and "Johnny B. Goode." Thankfully, Yoko's microphone seems to have been switched off by the time the second tune was played.

(PragerU) Ricky Gervais Roasts Hollywood Leftists

Candace Owens reports on Ricky Gervais giving Hollywood leftists a well-deserved rebuke at the Golden Globes.

Mark Dice: Bad News for CNN

There is lot of fake news for Mark Dice to report on. Starting with CNN settling a defamation suit with Nick Sandman, the MAGA hat-wearing high school kid it slimed.

US officials believe yesterday's passenger jet crash in Iran was caused by missile

This news could explain why the thugs in Iran refuse to hand over the jet's black box.

From Fox News:

The Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran’s international airport Wednesday was shot down by mistake by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile, Pentagon officials told Fox News.

Officials said U.S. intelligence increasingly points at the airliner being accidentally struck by a Russian-made missile, killing all 176 people on board the flight, just hours after Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles targeting two military bases housing American and coalition troops.

"An absolute tragedy," one U.S. official told Fox News. "They just screwed up and it is tragic."

The revelations come as Ukrainian investigators reportedly are awaiting permission from Iranian authorities to examine the crash site and look for missile fragments. Iran's head of civil aviation was quoted by the ISNA News Agency as saying Thursday that "scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumors are illogical," according to Reuters. Iranian officials have blamed a technical malfunction for the aircraft’s doom.

Judge orders Google to turn over a year's worth of Jussie Smollett's data

This is bad news for Smollett--as well as her protector, leftist Cook County state's attorney Kim Foxx.

From Fox News:

An Illinois judge granted two sweeping search warrants ordering Google to turn over a year's worth of data from Jussie Smollett and his manager as a special prosecutor probes whether or not the "Empire" actor staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself.

The warrants, filed last month in Cook County Circuit Court, will give investigators access to Smollett's and his manager's texts, emails, photos, location data, drafted and deleted messages, any files in their Google Drive cloud storage services, Google Voice texts, calls and contacts, as well as their search and web browsing history, dated between November 2018 and November 2019, according to reports by the Chicago Tribune.

Smollett, who is African-American and openly gay, garnered national attention and immediate sympathy after he claimed that two men attacked him on Jan. 29, 2019, and placed a noose around his neck as they shouted racist and homophobic epithets at him. Smollett's manager called 911 and was at the scene and visible on surveillance footage from the night of the attack.

An investigation by the Chicago police revealed a plot twist, though -- that Smollett allegedly paid $3,500 to the two brothers, both natives of Nigeria, allegedly to attack him outside his apartment building.

176 dead in Boeing plane crash in Iran

Tragically, 176 people died in a plane crash last night in Iran.

Graham: Iran's attack on our troops "an act of war"

US Senator Lindsey Graham is right. The terror regime in Iran attacked our troops with missiles last night.

From USA Today:

On Fox News, Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., stated that he "just got off the phone" with Trump about the situation and that if Iran continues "this c**p" they are "going to wake up one day out of the oil business."

“This was an act of war, Sean, by any reasonable definition,” Graham continued, before declaring that “the President has all the authority he needs under Article II to respond. How he responds is yet to be determined.”

Pompeo: The Strike Against Soleimani & “The Strategy That We’ve Employed Has Saved American Lives”

Saving American lives should be what it's all about.

Dozens killed by stampede at Iranian general's funeral

These people are not like us at all.

From AP:

A stampede on Tuesday at a funeral procession for a top Iranian general killed in a U.S. airstrike last week killed 40 people and injured 213 others, two Iranian semi-official news agencies reported.

The stampede took place in Kerman, the hometown of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, as the procession got underway, said the Fars and ISNA news agencies, citing Pirhossein Koulivand, the head of Iran's emergency medical services.

There was no information as to what had set off the stampede. Initial videos posted online showed people lying lifeless on a road and others shouting and trying to help them. Soleimani's funeral was later delayed but no new timing was given.

"Unfortunately as a result of the stampede, some of our compatriots have been injured and some have been killed during the funeral processions," he earlier said. In delaying Soleimani's burial, authorities cited concerns about the massive crowd that had gathered, the semi-official ISNA news agency said.

Margaret Thatcher: The Woman Who Saved Great Britain

Great Britain wasn't so great in the 1970s, historian Niall Ferguson tells us. Then came Margaret Thatcher.

Mark Dice: It Will Probably Happen This Year

With advances in voice spoofing software, fake news will get a lot easier to peddle, Mark Dice warns us.

From Da Tech Guy: Republicans are handed a winning issue as Democrats call for and act on abolishment of cash bail

The Dems are making it easy for our side. From my post at Da Tech Guy: Republicans are handed a winning issue as Democrats call for and act on abolishment of cash bail.

The Divine Comedy - National Express (Live at the Palladium)

Here's a song that's a total blast, The Divine Comedy's "National Express."

It's a romp about a British bus company.

A Message to Bloodthirsty Savages Around the World

Make the World Great Again!

Joe Walsh won't be on the GOP Primary ballot. Yes, Illinois is his home state.

Blogger at the border

It appears that the presidential campaign of Joe Walsh is going poorly.

He won't be on the ballot for the Illinois GOP presidential primary this spring.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

GOP presidential hopeful Joe Walsh, a former suburban Chicago House member, will not be on the March Illinois primary ballot, his spokesman told the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday, shrinking an already narrow sliver of a path he has to defeat President Donald Trump.

Walsh spokesman Charles Siler said Walsh was “heartbroken” to skip home state Illinois with the decision made to allocate scarce resources in other states, especially Iowa and New Hampshire, the states with the first 2020 votes in February.

“It’s the strategy that we have to take to stay viable,” Siler said.

The Trump campaign filed petitions for the president and delegates with the Illinois State Board of Elections on Thursday, with GOP Illinois Reps. Darin LaHood and Mike Bost on hand as well as the chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, Tim Schneider.

(PragerU) What Was the Enlightenment?

Yoram Hazony, an Israel philosopher, clarifies what the Enlightenment really was in the latest PragerU video.

President Trump's surprise decision to order targeted killing of Qassem Soleimani

The leader of Iran's Quds unit, General Qassem Soleimani, decided to mess with us.

And we gave it back to him.

Julian Castro ends presidential campaign

Former San Antonio mayor and Obama HUD secretary Julian Castro (he pronounced the "J" the Spanish way) ended is presidential campaign today. To which everyone but his staffers are saying now, "Do you mean he was running?"

On this day (maybe) in 1920, Isaac Asimov born

The great science-fiction writer--and mystery novelist, historian, ethicist, and many more--Isaac Asimov, was born around 100 years ago today.

Asimov, who was born in the Soviet Union, actually wasn't sure exactly when he was born, but he always celebrated January 2 as his birthday. According to Wikipedia, "Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Smolensk Oblast, Russian SFSR on an unknown date between October 4, 1919 and January 2, 1920, inclusive."

Asimov edited or wrote over 500 books. His best known work is the Foundation series, which I remain an enormous fan of.

Redeem your Amazon gift cards by way of Marathon Pundit

Happy New Year!

Were you nice for Christmas? Did Santa leave you an Amazon gift card in your Christmas stocking. If that happened, then redeem your Amazon car through Marathon Pundit. It costs you nothing extra--your card does not get an additional "ding." And the small amount I received gets invested back into the blog.

Click below to start! And thank you!

Dem Rep Green: “The genesis of impeachment…was when the president was running for office"

Rep. Al Green (D-TX) said this week on MSLSD that the impeachment process began before he was sworn in. “The genesis of impeachment…was when the president was running for office."

Green, an unhinged leftist, previously has said that President Trump needs to be impeached and removed from office. Otherwise he'll be reelected.