Amanda is a murderer in Italy but she has hoodwinked many people into believing that she is innocent. She has snookered ABC's 20/20 into running a totally one sided story about Knox that makes Knox almost ready to be declared a saint by the Pope.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/amanda-knox-back-prison-cell-await-mondays-verdict/story?id=14636298
However, Ann Coulter has a good response: Despite liberals' desperate need for Europeans to like them, the American media have enraged the entire nation of Italy with their bald-faced lies about a heinous murder in Perugia committed by a fresh-faced American girl, Amanda Knox.
The facts aren't elusive: In December 2009, the Italian court released a 400-plus page report detailing the mountains of evidence that led the judges and jury to conclude that Knox, along with her Italian beau, Raffaele Sollecito, and a petty thief of her acquaintance, Rudy Guede, had murdered Knox's English roommate, Meredith Kercher, on the evening of Nov. 1, 2007.
Now liberals are howling that the DNA evidence was "contaminated," but they always say that. It wasn't. And the DNA was already thoroughly vetted at trial.
Nonetheless, let's consider only a tiny slice of the evidence available to the police in the first week after the murder -- long before any DNA tests came back.
Murders and murder convictions obviously occurred before 1986 -- the first time DNA was used in any criminal investigation -- so it is possible to establish guilt with no DNA at all.
Knox's first-of-several alibis for the night of the murder was that she was at her boyfriend (and co-defendant) Sollecito's house all night, sound asleep until 10 a.m. the next morning.
A few days later, when that was proved false by telephone records, eyewitnesses and Sollecito's admission that it was a lie, Knox claimed she was in the house during Meredith's murder ... and she knew who the murderer was!
She said it was her boss, Patrick Lumumba, the owner of a popular bar in town:
"He wanted her. ... Raffaele and I went into another room and then I heard screams. ... Patrick and Meredith were in Meredith's bedroom while I think I stayed in the kitchen. ... I can't remember how long they were together in the bedroom, but the only thing I can say is that at a certain point I remember hearing Meredith's screams and I covered my ears. ... I can't remember if Meredith was screaming and if I heard thuds but I could imagine what was going on."
Solely because of Knox's claim that Lumumba murdered Meredith, he was arrested and sat in jail for two weeks before being released when the police discovered about a hundred eyewitnesses who could place him at his bar all night, the night of the murder.
If the police were intent on framing Knox for the murder, they were easily distracted by this wild goose chase.
Knox later said she falsely accused Lumumba only because the police wanted her to do so.
http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2011-09-07.html
But ABC just concentrated on Amanda Knox and rarely mention the victim, Meredith Kercher. who was brutally murdered.
Maybe it is ratings week and they are trying to win a ratings race.
But I just wonder if Amanda Knox was not a pretty young white girl but a middle aged black woman, would they even reporting the story?
Yep, you know the answer for that.
The Family That Steals Together, Stays Together?
From the Las Vegas Sun: North Las Vegas Police say they have arrested four teenagers and two parents in connection with a string of auto burglaries.
A three-month investigation led detectives to a group of young adults suspected of burglarizing vehicles in the area, police said.
The group, consisting of 18-year-olds Clarence Rose, Ricky Burns, Xavier Quarels and a 17-year-old male, went through neighborhoods jiggling door handles on vehicles, police said.
When they found unlocked vehicles, they stole items such as GPS systems, iPods, cell phones and sunglasses, police said.
Detectives believe items were pawned by Karl Cage and Gwendolen Jackson, parents of two of the group members, police said.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/sep/30/teens-parents-arrested-string-auto-burglaries/
Just have to wonder about what was said around the dinner table.
Mom: Well, son, how many cars did you steal from today?
Son: Only 3 today and we were only able to get $50 from the pawn shop.
Mom: Wait till your dad gets home tonight, he is going beat you ass. Your quota is 6 cars and $200 a day. We are so disappointed in you, son. Let this be an example to you other boys, we mean it when we set your quota. This ain't high school, you know.
A three-month investigation led detectives to a group of young adults suspected of burglarizing vehicles in the area, police said.
The group, consisting of 18-year-olds Clarence Rose, Ricky Burns, Xavier Quarels and a 17-year-old male, went through neighborhoods jiggling door handles on vehicles, police said.
When they found unlocked vehicles, they stole items such as GPS systems, iPods, cell phones and sunglasses, police said.
Detectives believe items were pawned by Karl Cage and Gwendolen Jackson, parents of two of the group members, police said.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/sep/30/teens-parents-arrested-string-auto-burglaries/
Just have to wonder about what was said around the dinner table.
Mom: Well, son, how many cars did you steal from today?
Son: Only 3 today and we were only able to get $50 from the pawn shop.
Mom: Wait till your dad gets home tonight, he is going beat you ass. Your quota is 6 cars and $200 a day. We are so disappointed in you, son. Let this be an example to you other boys, we mean it when we set your quota. This ain't high school, you know.
Several Suburban Police Chiefs rip Sheriff Tom Dart & Cook County’s refusal to hold suspected illegal immigrants
Some suburban police chiefs are blasting Sheriff Tom Dart & the Cook County Board’s decision to release from jail suspected illegal immigrants before the feds can take custody and possibly deport them.
The West Suburban Chiefs of Police Association sent a strongly worded letter this week to Board President Toni Preckwinkle, asking that she and county commissioners “rescind” the new policy, passed by a 10-5 voter on Sept. 7.
The measure allows Cook County Jail officials to ignore U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests to hold an about-to-be released inmate for up to 48 hours so federal authorities can take them in to custody, question them about suspected immigration violations or even start deportation proceedings.
“I strongly disagree with the Cook County Board decision to not detain illegal immigrants on federal immigration detainers,” Thomas Q. Wetzel, Riverside’s police chief and president of the west suburban police chiefs association wrote. “This is setting a dangerous precedent for the public and law enforcement in the greater Cook County area.”
In the past, the County Jail complied with federal immigration requests to hold inmates — behind bars on unrelated local charges — for up to 48 hours after posting bond, charges were dropped or the inmate was otherwise free to leave jail.
But following a recent ruling by a federal judge in Indiana, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office issued an opinion that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers should be considered requests, not warrants.
Immigration rights groups and several County Board members, citing the court ruling, pushed for passage of the new policy.
But the police group points to a Sun-Times story detailing how Eduardo Sanchez was arrested and charged with aggravated battery to a police officer, posted bond and walked out of jail like anyone else — even though a federal detainer had been placed on him.
Honoring the detainer requests, Wetzel said by phone, would mean keeping someone accused of punching and elbowing a Chicago police officer behind bars a little longer. Refusal to honor the requests will embolden illegal immigrants to resist arresting officers and possibly resort to violence.
“It empowers them to have less respect for officers and be less respectful of officers on the street,” he said.
Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a lead sponsor of the county ordinance, calls the federal detainers “flawed” and expensive and said the police group’s belief that waves of criminals are now filling the streets — rather than being turned over to federal authorities — is “false.”
“It’s a flawed program, most of the people they [federal authorities] put on detainer before this ordinance weren’t even being apprehended” and questioned by immigration authorities, Garcia said, recalling a conversation he had with an immigration agent.
Asked whether there’s a movement afoot to reverse the policy, Garcia said: “I don’t think so.”
Preckwinkle called Wetzel — a bit peeved that his letter went public. She agreed to meet with him at a later date to talk about his concerns.
“She called up and expressed a desire to meet with him,” said Kurt Summers, Preckwinkle’s chief of staff. “She wanted him to know on issues this important, if you want to find a solution you pick up the phone and work together.”
Illegal Beaner busted with 14 TONS OF MARIJUANA by U.S. CUSTOMS
U..S. border authorities intercepted a tractor-trailer loaded with 14 tons of marijuana destined for the Los Angeles area in what is believed to be one of the largest drug busts ever by the U.S. Border Patrol.
A canine officer doing a routine inspection at the State Highway 86 checkpoint near Salton City detected the load, which was hidden inside large wooden crates. Agents pulled out more than 1,100 bundles of marijuana, worth an estimated $22.6 million. The 35-year-old driver was arrested.
The seizure is the latest in a series of enormous marijuana busts along the California-Mexico border. In November, U.S. authorities in San Diego seized 25 tons of marijuana, and two weeks later an additional 20 tons. Both loads were discovered in warehouses linked to Mexico by tunnels.
Last October, Mexican authorities seized 134 tons of marijuana in Tijuana -- the largest bust in Mexican history. Those drugs were believed to belong to the Sinaloa drug cartel, Mexico’s most powerful organized crime group, authorities said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration declined to comment on the ongoing investigation of Wednesday’s seizure, which was the largest in Imperial County history.
Another of Mike Ditka’s sons charged with DUI - Just like his brother and his dad....
Another son of former Chicago Bears Coach Mike Ditka has been charged with driving under the influence in Deerfield, joining an older brother who has also been charged with DUI in the village, authorities said.
While his older brother Michael P. Ditka continues a court battle in his fourth DUI case, records indicate that Mark E. Ditka was recently arrested for DUI for the third time. One of the previous DUI arrests was downgraded to reckless driving, and in the other he was found not guilty.
Mark Ditka, 48, of the 600 block of Central Avenue in Deerfield, was stopped in his black 2012 Mercedes Benz while traveling northbound on Route 43 at Kates Road in Deerfield at 3:27 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, according to a police report.
Mark Ditka had “red, blood shot eyes, slurred speech, odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath,” the report states.
After Mark Ditka was taken to the police station, he refused a blood alcohol content breath test, police said. He also declined to answer questions, police said. Because he refused to submit to a BAC test, he was required to surrender his driver’s license.
Mark Ditka was also charged with driving 50 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone, and failure to show proof of registration. He could not be reached for comment.
Court records indicate that Mark Ditka was also arrested in Deerfield for DUI and failure to notify of damage to an unattended vehicle, on May 5, 2005. That case was later amended to a charge of reckless driving on July 27, 2005.
Mark Ditka was required to pay over $2,600 in court costs and fines and serve one year of supervision.
On Nov. 19, 1997 in Buffalo Grove, Mark Ditka was charged with DUI. He was found not guilty in a bench trial on Feb. 17, 1998.
Mark Ditka’s record also includes at least five speeding arrests.
While Mark Ditka is scheduled to appear in Lake County court Oct. 9 on the latest charge, his older brother, Michael P. Ditka, is due back in court on Oct. 27.
In April, Michael P. Ditka was arrested near his apartment complex for allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol.
According to a Deerfield police report, at about midnight on April 20 a police officer saw a black Hummer with its headlights on, running in the parking lot of the Deerfield Village Centre Apartments, in the 600 block of Deerfield Road. The officer then observed the Hummer drive into the rear parking lot of West Deerfield Township, 601 Deerfield Road, before turning off its headlights.
The officer approached the Hummer to find Michael Ditka, who lives in the 600 block of Deerfield Road, sitting the driver’s seat and another person in the passenger seat.
When Michael Ditka exited the vehicle, the officer allegedly smelled a strong odor of alcohol, the report said.
The officer also alleged in the report that Michael Ditka’s eyes were bloodshot, and he had slurred speech.
The officer alleges in the report that Michael Ditka struggled to perform a field sobriety test. A preliminary breath test allegedly indicated that Michael Ditka’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.189 percent.
According to the report, the passenger allegedly told police that Michael Ditka had been at the wheel when it had pulled into the West Deerfield Township parking lot.
Michael Dikta was taken to the Deerfield police station where he declined to take another breath test. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and released on $100 cash bond.
More Reality About Homelessness
San Francisco and Las Vegas are somewhat the same, especially when it comes to tourism. Both San Fran and Las Vegas depends on tourism and both have a problem with panhandlers.
From SFGate.com: "You do not want to vilify the panhandler," says Chris Conner, a program director for Denver Road Home. "But you want to make the point that giving to panhandlers doesn't alleviate homelessness."
"These are people who out of the goodness of their hearts are giving these people money," says J. Timothy Falvey, a director with the Union Square Business Improvement Association. "We have to get across the point that you are not helping."
The reality is that those who know panhandlers say most are using the cash for alcohol or drugs. Hitchko and partner Derrick Joyner watch the downward spiral every day.
"Since the first of the year I would say we've personally known eight to 10 people who died," Joyner said. "Ninety percent of the time it is drugs."
We often see panhandlers holding signs that say: "Just plain hungry." Or, "Just trying to get home." There's also the popular, "Homeless, can you help?"
Realistically, virtually none of those statements are true. Certainly, with a robust meal program in the city, where thousands of free meals are served three times a day at places like Glide Memorial and St. Anthony's, it is unlikely that the panhandlers can't find food.
"It is impossible to be hungry here," Joyner says.
As far as trying to get home, the city has a free program, called Homeward Bound, that provides a bus ticket to anyone who asks. They only need to have a contact at the other end of the trip. The city's Homeless Outreach Team can have a person on a bus and on the way home in less than 24 hours.
And finally, police say 75 percent of panhandlers they contact are in housing.
But few of the kindhearted people who give handouts know that.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/30/BAUS1LBU4A.DTL#ixzz1ZVO5MPEQ
I see panhandlers everyday standing at intersections with their signs or in one case, by Craig and Nellis, just walk up and down the median holding his stomach while limping.
These guys get money and probably a lot of money each day. Like the article says, these panhandlers are not hungry or homeless. In Las Vegas, we have some of the cheapest food and lodging anywhere in the U.S. We also have the soup kitchens, homeless shelters, food banks and more services for the homeless. It's not perfect, but at least there are services.
Sadly, I see many motorists give money to the panhandlers, enabling the panhandlers to do more panhandling. Most panhandlers are harmless, other than darting into traffic. But on the Strip and Downtown, panhandlers are more aggressive because there are more panhandlers and they are confronting visitors face to face.
And like the article state, much of the money goes for booze and drugs but the givers, for some reason, honestly believe their money is going for good.
But, the truth is that most panhandlers are not homeless nor hungry but want the money for booze and drugs. Some probably receive some kind of welfare like cash, food stamps and housing money. The people who give the money are just enabling the panhandlers and really not helping them, if the panhandlers actually want help. The panhandlers probably make too much tax free money to want help.
From SFGate.com: "You do not want to vilify the panhandler," says Chris Conner, a program director for Denver Road Home. "But you want to make the point that giving to panhandlers doesn't alleviate homelessness."
"These are people who out of the goodness of their hearts are giving these people money," says J. Timothy Falvey, a director with the Union Square Business Improvement Association. "We have to get across the point that you are not helping."
The reality is that those who know panhandlers say most are using the cash for alcohol or drugs. Hitchko and partner Derrick Joyner watch the downward spiral every day.
"Since the first of the year I would say we've personally known eight to 10 people who died," Joyner said. "Ninety percent of the time it is drugs."
We often see panhandlers holding signs that say: "Just plain hungry." Or, "Just trying to get home." There's also the popular, "Homeless, can you help?"
Realistically, virtually none of those statements are true. Certainly, with a robust meal program in the city, where thousands of free meals are served three times a day at places like Glide Memorial and St. Anthony's, it is unlikely that the panhandlers can't find food.
"It is impossible to be hungry here," Joyner says.
As far as trying to get home, the city has a free program, called Homeward Bound, that provides a bus ticket to anyone who asks. They only need to have a contact at the other end of the trip. The city's Homeless Outreach Team can have a person on a bus and on the way home in less than 24 hours.
And finally, police say 75 percent of panhandlers they contact are in housing.
But few of the kindhearted people who give handouts know that.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/30/BAUS1LBU4A.DTL#ixzz1ZVO5MPEQ
I see panhandlers everyday standing at intersections with their signs or in one case, by Craig and Nellis, just walk up and down the median holding his stomach while limping.
These guys get money and probably a lot of money each day. Like the article says, these panhandlers are not hungry or homeless. In Las Vegas, we have some of the cheapest food and lodging anywhere in the U.S. We also have the soup kitchens, homeless shelters, food banks and more services for the homeless. It's not perfect, but at least there are services.
Sadly, I see many motorists give money to the panhandlers, enabling the panhandlers to do more panhandling. Most panhandlers are harmless, other than darting into traffic. But on the Strip and Downtown, panhandlers are more aggressive because there are more panhandlers and they are confronting visitors face to face.
And like the article state, much of the money goes for booze and drugs but the givers, for some reason, honestly believe their money is going for good.
But, the truth is that most panhandlers are not homeless nor hungry but want the money for booze and drugs. Some probably receive some kind of welfare like cash, food stamps and housing money. The people who give the money are just enabling the panhandlers and really not helping them, if the panhandlers actually want help. The panhandlers probably make too much tax free money to want help.
Supt. Garry McCarthy...... We don't need any more Chicago cops! We got way too many! (Talk about having your nose up the mayor's ass!)
Superintendent Gary McCarthy talks to the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board September 30.
Top cop says city doesn't need more officers
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said the city doesn’t need more cops as it faces a $635 million budget gap. "So far we're showing we can get the job done with less," he said Friday.
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said the city doesn’t need more cops as it faces a $635 million budget gap.
“So far we're showing we can get the job done with less,” McCarthy told the Tribune editorial board on Friday. “I just can’t in good conscious say that we need more when we’re not operating at peak efficiency.”
The department has moved almost 900 cops to beat patrols since the end of May, due primarily to the disbanding of two specialized units and the transfer of cops from desk jobs. The move has come following a campaign pledge made by McCarthy’s boss, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, to put more than 1,000 officers on the streets. Critics contend he’s simply shuffling officers around.
But with the city experiencing tough economic times, McCarthy said it would be irresponsible to ask Emanuel for more officers without looking at every possible way to improve efficiency.
There are approximately 13,500 budgeted sworn positions in the Chicago Police Department, but roughly 1,400 of those jobs are vacant. Another 775 officers are on medical leave, according to the department.
McCarthy acknowledged he could cut the department’s $1.3 billion budget by eliminating the vacant posts. But he said he wants to hold on to those positions for when the economy turns around and replacements could be hired.
Reached in reaction to McCarthy’s comments, Ald. Robert Fioretti, 2nd, cautioned that the number of sworn-officer vacancies has nearly doubled in the past year and a half.
“We need to keep up the numbers (of officers) across the board and across the city to make sure that our citizens are safe in their homes and on the streets,” he said.
__________________________________________
Detective Shavedlongcock:
CRIME IS DOWN WHY???
#1: You moved tens of thousands of former CHA Project residents out to the suburbs. Noticed all the shootings and murders in the suburbs lately????
#2: You cooked the books and through fraud you lowered the crime stats.
#3: Many people just aren't waiting a few hours for a squad car to show up so they get frustrated and never report the crime....
Top cop says city doesn't need more officers
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said the city doesn’t need more cops as it faces a $635 million budget gap. "So far we're showing we can get the job done with less," he said Friday.
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said the city doesn’t need more cops as it faces a $635 million budget gap.
“So far we're showing we can get the job done with less,” McCarthy told the Tribune editorial board on Friday. “I just can’t in good conscious say that we need more when we’re not operating at peak efficiency.”
The department has moved almost 900 cops to beat patrols since the end of May, due primarily to the disbanding of two specialized units and the transfer of cops from desk jobs. The move has come following a campaign pledge made by McCarthy’s boss, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, to put more than 1,000 officers on the streets. Critics contend he’s simply shuffling officers around.
But with the city experiencing tough economic times, McCarthy said it would be irresponsible to ask Emanuel for more officers without looking at every possible way to improve efficiency.
There are approximately 13,500 budgeted sworn positions in the Chicago Police Department, but roughly 1,400 of those jobs are vacant. Another 775 officers are on medical leave, according to the department.
McCarthy acknowledged he could cut the department’s $1.3 billion budget by eliminating the vacant posts. But he said he wants to hold on to those positions for when the economy turns around and replacements could be hired.
Reached in reaction to McCarthy’s comments, Ald. Robert Fioretti, 2nd, cautioned that the number of sworn-officer vacancies has nearly doubled in the past year and a half.
“We need to keep up the numbers (of officers) across the board and across the city to make sure that our citizens are safe in their homes and on the streets,” he said.
__________________________________________
Detective Shavedlongcock:
CRIME IS DOWN WHY???
#1: You moved tens of thousands of former CHA Project residents out to the suburbs. Noticed all the shootings and murders in the suburbs lately????
#2: You cooked the books and through fraud you lowered the crime stats.
#3: Many people just aren't waiting a few hours for a squad car to show up so they get frustrated and never report the crime....
What Was Pizza Hut Thinking?
So, what was Pizza Hut thinking when they hired Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints and the caused of one of the NCAA worst scandals to be their spokeman in commercials?
From ESPN: The NCAA announced Thursday that Reggie Bush couldn't have been more guilty of NCAA violations during his spare-no-superlative career at USC. The finding could lead to the BCS' taking back the 2004 BCS Championship won by the Trojans. The finding also could lead to Bush's losing his 2005 Heisman Trophy.
That is up to the Heisman Trophy Trust, an eight-person committee in charge of the most famous individual prize in American sports. The committee will decide what to do about the 25-pound bronze doorstop it gave the Bush that same year.
"If and when [the NCAA] issues a decision, we will review the underlying facts and possibly do our own investigation," the group's president, William S. Dockery, told ESPN's Joe Schad last week.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=5272888
Also From ESPN: It's just a trophy, right? A bronze, stiff-arming figurine set on marble and black onyx. A 25-pound doorstop.
But the Heisman Trophy deserves better than Reggie Bush. USC admitted as much when it announced it was returning its replica of the 2005 award to the Heisman Trust. Bush should do the same with his copy, but he won't. He wouldn't know the truth if it grabbed him by the face mask...
Bush was a natural target for the parasites. And according to the NCAA's investigation, he willingly, enthusiastically and arrogantly had his hand out. He can lend his name to all the charitable foundations he wants, but nothing changes his USC legacy as a cheater.
He isn't the first player to take money, and he won't be the last. But at least we know about Bush, and at least there's something that can be done about it -- even if that something is symbolic...
Bush was a football field away from compliance. He ran right past NCAA rule 12.3.1.2, the one that prohibits the acceptance of extra benefits. He wasn't a student-athlete. He was an athlete on the take.
When Yahoo! Sports first reported the alleged infractions, Bush said the situation had been "blown out of proportion." He'd explain his side of the story soon enough.
That was an NCAA investigation ago. A USC athletic director ago. A USC head coach ago. A USC president ago. A handful of debilitating sanctions ago.
The effects of Bush's greed will be felt for years, especially if an appeals committee upholds the initial penalties, which include scholarship reductions, a two-year bowl ban and forfeited wins. It already has cost USC a star recruit. No matter how Trojans coach Lane Kiffin, who inherited this mess from Carroll but has his own long history of integrity issues, wants to spin the situation, the program will take a hit under the chin strap.
The defiant, delusional reign of USC athletic director Mike Garrett ends in less than two weeks. He'll be replaced by Pat Haden, who, like Garrett, has a USC football pedigree, but he also has the good sense to admit mistakes were made.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&page=wojciechowski/100721&sportCat=ncf
So, now Pizza Hut is putting this scummy person, but good football player on their payroll and in their commercials. I know many USC fans and Bush is a 4 letter word to them- the nasty 4 letter words- not Bush.
And Pizza Hut thinks this the best person they can get for their commercials- a cheating, greedy football player that has cost people their jobs, cost athletes their scholarships and losing out on a free education? It cost USC their national championship and their prestige. And Bush has never given a heartfelt apology for all the problems he has caused.
And Pizza Hut thinks he is a quality individual , worthy of being on their commercials?
I was going to order pizza this weekend and it's not going be from Pizza Hut.
From ESPN: The NCAA announced Thursday that Reggie Bush couldn't have been more guilty of NCAA violations during his spare-no-superlative career at USC. The finding could lead to the BCS' taking back the 2004 BCS Championship won by the Trojans. The finding also could lead to Bush's losing his 2005 Heisman Trophy.
That is up to the Heisman Trophy Trust, an eight-person committee in charge of the most famous individual prize in American sports. The committee will decide what to do about the 25-pound bronze doorstop it gave the Bush that same year.
"If and when [the NCAA] issues a decision, we will review the underlying facts and possibly do our own investigation," the group's president, William S. Dockery, told ESPN's Joe Schad last week.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=5272888
Also From ESPN: It's just a trophy, right? A bronze, stiff-arming figurine set on marble and black onyx. A 25-pound doorstop.
But the Heisman Trophy deserves better than Reggie Bush. USC admitted as much when it announced it was returning its replica of the 2005 award to the Heisman Trust. Bush should do the same with his copy, but he won't. He wouldn't know the truth if it grabbed him by the face mask...
Bush was a natural target for the parasites. And according to the NCAA's investigation, he willingly, enthusiastically and arrogantly had his hand out. He can lend his name to all the charitable foundations he wants, but nothing changes his USC legacy as a cheater.
He isn't the first player to take money, and he won't be the last. But at least we know about Bush, and at least there's something that can be done about it -- even if that something is symbolic...
Bush was a football field away from compliance. He ran right past NCAA rule 12.3.1.2, the one that prohibits the acceptance of extra benefits. He wasn't a student-athlete. He was an athlete on the take.
When Yahoo! Sports first reported the alleged infractions, Bush said the situation had been "blown out of proportion." He'd explain his side of the story soon enough.
That was an NCAA investigation ago. A USC athletic director ago. A USC head coach ago. A USC president ago. A handful of debilitating sanctions ago.
The effects of Bush's greed will be felt for years, especially if an appeals committee upholds the initial penalties, which include scholarship reductions, a two-year bowl ban and forfeited wins. It already has cost USC a star recruit. No matter how Trojans coach Lane Kiffin, who inherited this mess from Carroll but has his own long history of integrity issues, wants to spin the situation, the program will take a hit under the chin strap.
The defiant, delusional reign of USC athletic director Mike Garrett ends in less than two weeks. He'll be replaced by Pat Haden, who, like Garrett, has a USC football pedigree, but he also has the good sense to admit mistakes were made.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&page=wojciechowski/100721&sportCat=ncf
So, now Pizza Hut is putting this scummy person, but good football player on their payroll and in their commercials. I know many USC fans and Bush is a 4 letter word to them- the nasty 4 letter words- not Bush.
And Pizza Hut thinks this the best person they can get for their commercials- a cheating, greedy football player that has cost people their jobs, cost athletes their scholarships and losing out on a free education? It cost USC their national championship and their prestige. And Bush has never given a heartfelt apology for all the problems he has caused.
And Pizza Hut thinks he is a quality individual , worthy of being on their commercials?
I was going to order pizza this weekend and it's not going be from Pizza Hut.
Obama Not To Run In 2012?
From CNS News: In an interview with conservative radio icon Sean Hannity, former President Clinton adviser and campaign manager Dick Morris stated that, after speaking with a Democratic strategist, he thinks it is “very possible” that President Obama might acquiesce to requests from the Democratic leadership in Congress and bow out of the 2012 race, leaving the door open for him to return sometime in the future.
“I asked a top Democratic strategist the other day and he thought that it was possible that, in January, Harry Reid comes to Obama and says, ‘Look you cost us control of the House last year, you’re going to cost us control of the Senate this year. For the good of the party you have to step aside’” said Morris.
“And, then, (Obama) pulls a Lyndon Johnson, he says ‘I’m fighting to solve the recession, and problem is because of partisanship and my re-election people reject everything I say because of partisanship, so I’m going to not run for president and focus my full time attention on solving this recession’ and then go out popular,” Morris added.
http://cnsnews.com/blog/grant-m-dahl/fmr-clinton-adviser-very-possible-obama-will-bow-out-presidential-race-now
In one way, this makes sense. Obama has never been in a tough fight. Just about everything in Obama's life has been given to him. From his upbringing, to his education, to his jobs and then his elections, they were not tough. Either through luck or gifts, he has not had a rough race and with the economy in the tank, is Obama up to a brutal fight were his every decision will be under the microscope, debated and criticized by his opponents, bloggers and even most members of the media- lap dogs excluded He doesn't like that- he hates being criticized and the negative attention.
On the other hand, Obama is a narcissist and believes everything he has done is the only correct way to do things and he has surrounded himself with yes men and women and so, he only knows what he hears from them and that is only positive responses from the lackeys.
So, it will be interesting to see what happens. Is Obama willing to go through a fight he probably will not win, ruin his image and he will lose support? Or will he drop out and be a popular elder statesman like Bill Clinton?
My guess, is that he will not run because he wants to be popular with the rich people and if he runs and runs a class war fare campaign, he will lose their support and friendship. All he will have left is core supporters: inner city Blacks and Hispanics and he doesn't like those kind of people. He never calls or visits them and does very little to help them out.
And the Dem's already have a candidate ready and willing to run for president, Hillary Clinton and she would have a better chance of winning than Obama.
So, if I was a betting man, my guess is that Obama will not run.
“I asked a top Democratic strategist the other day and he thought that it was possible that, in January, Harry Reid comes to Obama and says, ‘Look you cost us control of the House last year, you’re going to cost us control of the Senate this year. For the good of the party you have to step aside’” said Morris.
“And, then, (Obama) pulls a Lyndon Johnson, he says ‘I’m fighting to solve the recession, and problem is because of partisanship and my re-election people reject everything I say because of partisanship, so I’m going to not run for president and focus my full time attention on solving this recession’ and then go out popular,” Morris added.
http://cnsnews.com/blog/grant-m-dahl/fmr-clinton-adviser-very-possible-obama-will-bow-out-presidential-race-now
In one way, this makes sense. Obama has never been in a tough fight. Just about everything in Obama's life has been given to him. From his upbringing, to his education, to his jobs and then his elections, they were not tough. Either through luck or gifts, he has not had a rough race and with the economy in the tank, is Obama up to a brutal fight were his every decision will be under the microscope, debated and criticized by his opponents, bloggers and even most members of the media- lap dogs excluded He doesn't like that- he hates being criticized and the negative attention.
On the other hand, Obama is a narcissist and believes everything he has done is the only correct way to do things and he has surrounded himself with yes men and women and so, he only knows what he hears from them and that is only positive responses from the lackeys.
So, it will be interesting to see what happens. Is Obama willing to go through a fight he probably will not win, ruin his image and he will lose support? Or will he drop out and be a popular elder statesman like Bill Clinton?
My guess, is that he will not run because he wants to be popular with the rich people and if he runs and runs a class war fare campaign, he will lose their support and friendship. All he will have left is core supporters: inner city Blacks and Hispanics and he doesn't like those kind of people. He never calls or visits them and does very little to help them out.
And the Dem's already have a candidate ready and willing to run for president, Hillary Clinton and she would have a better chance of winning than Obama.
So, if I was a betting man, my guess is that Obama will not run.
This Is One Reason Why Wisconsin Needed The Anti-Union Law
From the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: A 39-year-old Vesper man, who is a teacher in the Stevens Point Area Public School District, was charged today in Wood County Circuit Court after authorities say he sexually assaulted a teenage girl multiple times.
Paul A. Peterson, a technology education teacher at Stevens Point Area Senior High, faces charges of repeated sexual assault of a child and exposing his genitals to a child. He remains in the Wood County Jail on a $250,000 cash bond and must have no contact with any girls.
http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/article/20110930/WRT0101/110930105/Local-teacher-charged-sexual-assault-child?odyssey=tabtopnewsimgFRONTPAGE
In the olden days before the anti-public employee union law passed this year, the Stevens Point Area School District teacher's union would have defended this dirt bag, especially if was able to get out of jail. He probably would have been placed on paid administrative leave until the case was cleared.
Now, the school district can fire him, if they choose, and the union will not be able to defend him. And they will be able to fire him tomorrow, if they choose. Not so, before the anti-public union law was in effect.
So, besides the law saving money for school districts and other local governments, it will also get scum bags out of a school district a lot faster.
Thank you, Scott Walker.
Paul A. Peterson, a technology education teacher at Stevens Point Area Senior High, faces charges of repeated sexual assault of a child and exposing his genitals to a child. He remains in the Wood County Jail on a $250,000 cash bond and must have no contact with any girls.
http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/article/20110930/WRT0101/110930105/Local-teacher-charged-sexual-assault-child?odyssey=tabtopnewsimgFRONTPAGE
In the olden days before the anti-public employee union law passed this year, the Stevens Point Area School District teacher's union would have defended this dirt bag, especially if was able to get out of jail. He probably would have been placed on paid administrative leave until the case was cleared.
Now, the school district can fire him, if they choose, and the union will not be able to defend him. And they will be able to fire him tomorrow, if they choose. Not so, before the anti-public union law was in effect.
So, besides the law saving money for school districts and other local governments, it will also get scum bags out of a school district a lot faster.
Thank you, Scott Walker.
New Weapon Of Protection: Garden Hose
From the Las Vegas Sun: Police say an attempted burglary was foiled earlier this week when a homeowner turned a garden hose on a would-be attacker who was impersonating an officer.
A homeowner was watering his lawn in the area of Spencer Street and Silverado Ranch Boulevard about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday when a man dressed in all black, identified as 23-year-old Justice Nall, approached him, police said.
Nall yelled at the homeowner, saying "Get down, this is the police," according to the arrest report.
The homeowner refused and, believing he was about to be attacked, began spraying Nall with the hose, the report said.
After a few seconds, Nall fled the man's yard and ran elsewhere in the neighborhood. Metro Police officers spent two hours looking for him with help from helicopters and the K9 unit, according to the police report.
Nall eventually was found hiding in a bush wearing a black ski mask, black snorkeling goggles, black gloves, a black shirt and black jogging pants.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/sep/30/man-snorkeling-goggles-nabbed-after-garden-hose-fo/
And in the end the robber probably will get a cold, sue the homeowner for damages and get a settlement.
A homeowner was watering his lawn in the area of Spencer Street and Silverado Ranch Boulevard about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday when a man dressed in all black, identified as 23-year-old Justice Nall, approached him, police said.
Nall yelled at the homeowner, saying "Get down, this is the police," according to the arrest report.
The homeowner refused and, believing he was about to be attacked, began spraying Nall with the hose, the report said.
After a few seconds, Nall fled the man's yard and ran elsewhere in the neighborhood. Metro Police officers spent two hours looking for him with help from helicopters and the K9 unit, according to the police report.
Nall eventually was found hiding in a bush wearing a black ski mask, black snorkeling goggles, black gloves, a black shirt and black jogging pants.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/sep/30/man-snorkeling-goggles-nabbed-after-garden-hose-fo/
And in the end the robber probably will get a cold, sue the homeowner for damages and get a settlement.
If Harry Was A Real Caring Husband, He Would Not Have Put This Out
I am just wondering if a frying pan was thrown at him this morning.
From Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun: Landra Reid, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, has been diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer and is being treated in Washington, DC.
Reid’s office confirmed the diagnosis this morning when I called. Landra Reid is receiving treatment, including chemotherapy. Reid’s folks emphasized that he is by her side but that his work as majority leader will not be compromised.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/ralstons-flash/2011/sep/30/reids-wife-diagnosed-stage-2-breast-cancer/
So, his wife's illness will not compromise his work as a majority leader of the U.S. Senate? This is a kind compassionate caring liberal?
I am sorry, but it seems Reid's caring more for the Senate than his wife is horrendous. He did this when his wife was darn near killed in a car accident several months earlier.
Harry Reid is more concerned about the power e has than his wife and that is shameful.
I truly hope that Landra is cured of the cancer and is cared and comforted by her family and friends because she is not going to hardly get anything from Harry.
Hopefully, we will have another breast cancer survivor.
From Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun: Landra Reid, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, has been diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer and is being treated in Washington, DC.
Reid’s office confirmed the diagnosis this morning when I called. Landra Reid is receiving treatment, including chemotherapy. Reid’s folks emphasized that he is by her side but that his work as majority leader will not be compromised.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/ralstons-flash/2011/sep/30/reids-wife-diagnosed-stage-2-breast-cancer/
So, his wife's illness will not compromise his work as a majority leader of the U.S. Senate? This is a kind compassionate caring liberal?
I am sorry, but it seems Reid's caring more for the Senate than his wife is horrendous. He did this when his wife was darn near killed in a car accident several months earlier.
Harry Reid is more concerned about the power e has than his wife and that is shameful.
I truly hope that Landra is cured of the cancer and is cared and comforted by her family and friends because she is not going to hardly get anything from Harry.
Hopefully, we will have another breast cancer survivor.
Two U.S.-Born Al Qaeda Terrorists Killed in CIA-Directed Drone Strike
Photo: CIA-led drone attack kills terror leader Anwar "Pork Chop" al-Awlaki, right, and Al "Pig Guts" Qaeda magazine editor Samir Kahn in Yemen, in a strike that used two Predator drones and Hellfire missiles.Two American militants, including senior Al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki, were killed in Yemen early Friday morning by a CIA-led U.S. drone strike, marking the highest-profile takedown of terror leaders since the raid on Usama bin Laden's compound.
Fox News has learned that two Predator drones hovering above al-Awlaki's convoy fired the Hellfire missiles which killed the terror leader. According to a senior U.S. official, the operation was carried out by Joint Special Operations Command, under the direction of the CIA.
"AQAP has lost its ideological leader, which is a huge blow," a former intelligence official who has tracked al-Awlaki for years told Fox News.
Al-Awlaki was a U.S.-born Islamic militant cleric who became a prominent figure with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the network's most active branch. He was involved in several terror plots in the United States in recent years, using his fluent English and Internet savvy to draw recruits to carry out attacks. President Obama signed an order in early 2010 making him the first American to be placed on the "kill or capture" list.
The Yemeni government and Defense Ministry announced al-Awlaki's death, without giving details. But American sources confirmed the CIA and U.S. military were behind the strike on al-Awlaki, whom one official described as a "big fish."
The strike hit a vehicle with three or four suspected Al Qaeda members inside, in addition to al-Awlaki. According to a U.S. senior official, the other American militant killed in the strike was Samir Khan, the co-editor of an English-language Al Qaeda web magazine called "Inspire."
Kahn, in his 20s, was an American of Pakistani heritage from North Carolina. His magazine promoted attacks against U.S. targets, even running articles on how to put together explosives. In one issue, Khan wrote that he had moved to Yemen and joined Al Qaeda's fighters, pledging to "wage jihad for the rest of our lives."
The strike comes after a heavy presence of U.S. drones was spotted in the skies over the region over the last couple weeks, one source told Fox News.
The strike underscores the expanding nature of the drone program, which has migrated beyond the borders of Pakistan into Yemen, Somalia and other countries.
Yemeni security officials and local tribal leaders also said al-Awlaki was killed in an air strike on his convoy that they believed was carried out by the Americans.
Al-Awlaki would be the most prominent Al Qaeda figure to be killed since bin Laden's death in a U.S. raid in Pakistan in May. In July, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the Yemeni-American was a priority target alongside Ayman al-Zawahri, bin Laden's successor as the terror network's leader.
The 40-year-old al-Awlaki had been in the U.S. crosshairs since his killing was approved by President Obama in April 2010 -- making him the first American placed on the CIA "kill or capture" list. At least twice, airstrikes were called in on locations in Yemen where al-Awlaki was suspected of being, but he wasn't harmed. In May, U.S. forces were able to track his truck but were unable to take him out.
Al-Awlaki, born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents, was believed to be key in turning Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen into what American officials have called the most significant and immediate threat to the United States. The branch, led by a Yemeni militant named Nasser al-Wahishi, plotted several failed attacks on U.S. soil -- the botched Christmas 2009 attempt to blow up an American airliner heading to Detroit and a foiled 2010 attempt to send explosives to Chicago.
The former intelligence official said that with al-Awlaki gone, the branch "still retains a lot of capability."
But Richard Miniter, author of "Losing bin Laden," told Fox News that al-Awlaki's role will be "hard to replace."
"He understood American society very well. He understood American idioms and pop culture and how to appeal to Americans," he told Fox News. "It's very hard for them to replicate this."
Known as an eloquent preacher who spread English-language sermons on the Internet calling for "holy war" against the United States, al-Awlaki's role was to inspire and -- it is believed -- even directly recruit militants to carry out attacks.
He was not believed to be a key operational leader, but as a spokesman. His English skills gave him reach among second and third generation Muslims who may not speak Arabic.
Yemeni officials have said al-Awlaki had contacts with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the accused would-be Christmas plane bomber, who was in Yemen in 2009. They say the believe al-Awlaki met with the 23-year-old Nigerian, along with other Al Qaeda leaders, in Al Qaeda strongholds in the country in the weeks before the failed bombing.
In New York, the Pakistani-American man who pleaded guilty to the May 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt told interrogators he was "inspired" by al-Awlaki after making contact over the Internet.
Al-Awlaki also exchanged up to 20 emails with U.S. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, alleged killer of 13 people in the Nov. 5, 2009, rampage at Fort Hood. Hasan initiated the contacts, drawn by al-Awlaki's Internet sermons, and approached him for religious advice.
Al-Awlaki has said he didn't tell Hasan to carry out the shootings, but he later praised Hasan as a "hero" on his Web site for killing American soldiers who would be heading for Afghanistan or Iraq to fight Muslims. The cleric similarly said Abdulmutallab was his "student" but said he never told him to carry out the airline attack.
In a statement, the Yemeni government said al-Awlaki was "targeted and killed" 5 miles from the town of Khashef in the Province of al-Jawf. The town is located 87 miles east of the capital Sanaa.
The statement says the operation was launched on Friday around 9:55 a.m. It gave no other details.
The Yemeni Defense Ministry also reported the death, without elaborating, in a mobile phone SMS message.
Top U.S. counter terrorism adviser John Brennan says such cooperation with Yemen has improved since the political unrest there. Brennan said the Yemenis have been more willing to share information about the location of Al Qaeda targets, as a way to fight the Yemeni branch challenging them for power. Other U.S. officials say the Yemenis have also allowed the U.S. to fly more armed drone and aircraft missions over its territory than ever previously, trying to use U.S. military power to stay in power.
Like we really need this being 2,000 cops short - Chicago could host NATO-Russia summit next year
At least LEFT-IS-THE-BEST will have a lot of new friends to hang with!
BRUSSELS — NATO's top official says a summit between the alliance and Russia could be held next year in Chicago if the two sides can agree on substantive issues to discuss.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also says having NATO and Russia operate parallel missile defense systems could guard against new threats and allay old suspicions at the same time. NATO — the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — spent much of its life as a bulwark against the Soviet Union.
NATO will hold a summit of its 28 member countries in Chicago in May 2012. Fogh Rasmussen said the summit would focus on NATO's long-term commitment to Afghanistan; getting the right mix of military capabilities; missile defense; and partnership with countries in the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf.
BRUSSELS — NATO's top official says a summit between the alliance and Russia could be held next year in Chicago if the two sides can agree on substantive issues to discuss. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also says having NATO and Russia operate parallel missile defense systems could guard against new threats and allay old suspicions at the same time. NATO — the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — spent much of its life as a bulwark against the Soviet Union.
NATO will hold a summit of its 28 member countries in Chicago in May 2012. Fogh Rasmussen said the summit would focus on NATO's long-term commitment to Afghanistan; getting the right mix of military capabilities; missile defense; and partnership with countries in the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf.
Man convicted of shooting Chicago police officer Jim Mullen dies in prison
PHOTO: LEFT: George Guirsch RIGHT: Police Office Jim Mullen
A man who was convicted of shooting and paralyzing a Chicago police officer in 1996 died Wednesday in Pontiac Correctional Center, officials said.
In 2002, George Guirsch, then 67, was resentenced to 100 years in prison for shooting at four officers and paralyzing one, Officer Jim Mullen, from the neck down. He was originally sentenced to 140 years in prison, 70 years each for two counts of attempted murder of a police officer under the Safe Neighborhoods Act, but that law was overturned in 1999 by the Illinois Supreme Court.
On Oct. 16, 1996, four officers responded to a call of gunfire from Guirsch's apartment in the Rogers Park neighborhood, officials said. When they arrived, Guirsch, an off-duty security guard for a detective agency, fired at the officers, seriously wounding Mullen. He was originally sentenced in 1998.
Mullen filed suit against the Professionals Detective Agency, who employed Guirsch as a security guard, and they settled with him in 2000 for an undisclosed amount.
Mullen's complaint against the ageny alleged it either knew or should have realized that Guirsch's behavior in the months before the shooting made him unsuitable to be armed.
Guirsch, 76, died Wednesday at Pontiac apparently of natural causes. No foul play was suspected, said Sharyn Elman, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Corrections.
An official cause of death was pending autopsy results, according to a spokeswoman for the Livingston County Coroner's office in Pontiac.
A man who was convicted of shooting and paralyzing a Chicago police officer in 1996 died Wednesday in Pontiac Correctional Center, officials said.In 2002, George Guirsch, then 67, was resentenced to 100 years in prison for shooting at four officers and paralyzing one, Officer Jim Mullen, from the neck down. He was originally sentenced to 140 years in prison, 70 years each for two counts of attempted murder of a police officer under the Safe Neighborhoods Act, but that law was overturned in 1999 by the Illinois Supreme Court.
On Oct. 16, 1996, four officers responded to a call of gunfire from Guirsch's apartment in the Rogers Park neighborhood, officials said. When they arrived, Guirsch, an off-duty security guard for a detective agency, fired at the officers, seriously wounding Mullen. He was originally sentenced in 1998.
Mullen filed suit against the Professionals Detective Agency, who employed Guirsch as a security guard, and they settled with him in 2000 for an undisclosed amount.
Mullen's complaint against the ageny alleged it either knew or should have realized that Guirsch's behavior in the months before the shooting made him unsuitable to be armed.
Guirsch, 76, died Wednesday at Pontiac apparently of natural causes. No foul play was suspected, said Sharyn Elman, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Corrections.
An official cause of death was pending autopsy results, according to a spokeswoman for the Livingston County Coroner's office in Pontiac.
I love it! Radio talk show hosts gave out the cell phone number of the ILLEGAL BEANER ACTIVIST - Now the beaner wants the radio hosts fired!
Illegal Beaner Groups want 'John and Ken' show off the air
The popular KFI radio hosts gave out the cellphone number of an immigrant rights activist, prompting hate-filled calls. Minority and immigrant rights groups say they will boycott advertisers if the show isn't taken off the air.
Photo: John Kobylt, left, and Ken Chiampou host an afternoon show on Los Angeles' KFI-AM (640). On Sept. 1, they gave out the cellphone number of an immigrants' rights activist, who then received many angry calls. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Long-time ILLEGAL immigrant rights activist Jorge-Mario Cabrera is used to being called to task for his views. But when radio hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou recently gave out his cellphone number on the air in a campaign against the California Dream Act, he found himself unprepared for the barrage of hate-filled phone calls that followed.
"Hi, this message is for Mr. Cabrera," one caller said in a voice mail transcribed by Cabrera. "Listen, you pile of garbage…You need to pack your [expletive] up and go back to wherever it is you came from. Nobody wants you here. You are invading the legal people that are in this country and ruining this country. I hope you choke in your own vomit."
In the days after the KFI-AM (640) radio hosts read Cabrera's cellphone and office numbers on the air and told listeners opposed to state tuition assistance for illegal immigrants to call him, Cabrera, a spokesman for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, got more than 400 calls, many of them filled with hateful language and calls for violence.
"It's never been as cutting, as humiliating as these calls were," Cabrera said. "These calls were intent to diminish me as a person."
The incident struck a chord among leaders of civil and immigrant rights groups across the state, many of whom saw it as the latest example in a long history of the popular radio show inciting anger and vitriol.
"It was the last straw," said Alex Nogales, president and chief executive of the National Hispanic Media Coalition. "These guys have been at it day in and day out. It's the same ugly rhetoric."
The National Hispanic Media Coalition led what some believe was a successful campaign to get television host Lou Dobbs off the air at CNN for similar reasons. Dobbs resigned days after the coalition's president met with the head of the news network, but the network has denied that the meeting led to the resignation.
Now the coalition has joined with several major Latino and immigrant rights groups, including the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and the National Immigration Law Center, in calling on the radio station to remove the show's hosts or face a boycott of its sponsors.
Robin Bertolucci, KFI's programming director, declined to discuss the incident but said she planned to meet soon with the group's representatives.
"We're looking forward to talking to them," she said. "I think that's the best place for us to discuss it."
The 'John and Ken' show is one of the most popular programs on one of the most popular radio stations in the region, and listeners seem to relish the hosts' anger and sense of outrage. While Illegal immigration has long been a particular focus of the show, it's only one of several favorite targets — the hosts have railed against taxes, labor unions and other pet causes for years with equally incendiary rhetoric.
The duo regularly uses cutting language to talk about legislators and often ask listeners to call the public phone lines of politicians who disagree with them.
Cabrera's numbers were read on air Sept. 1 during a campaign to defeat what the hosts call the "Illegal Alien California Dream Act," a reference to recently approved legislation that would extend state financial aid to college students who are in the U.S. illegally. Gov. Jerry Brown must still sign the bill before it becomes law.
John and Ken urged listeners to call Cabrera, saying he was planning a celebration "on the theft of tax money for illegal aliens." The phone calls started coming and, weeks later, still haven't completely stopped, Cabrera said. One man has called 32 times. Some calls were benign, like one woman who spoke in Spanish and said Cabrera's organization should work to benefit people who are in the country legally. Others were not:
"I hope somebody shoots you"; "fat pig…"; "We don't want your people here. You are dirty, you don't have any social skills…I hope you fall off the earth"; "I hope you're hit by a car walking across the street"; "Listen you pile of garbage, I hope you get … cancer tomorrow and start to die."
Henry Fernandez, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, who has reviewed some of the messages said that although the radio hosts didn't use such language themselves, they should be held accountable.
"They gave out the telephone number knowing that hateful and violent calls or threatening calls would be made to this individual," he said. "I don't think it's acceptable for radio hosts or television personalities to walk away from the violence that they incite."
Last week, the leaders of a dozen groups sent a letter to the station's market manager, program director and to Clear Channel Communications, which owns the station, asking for a meeting and demanding the John and Ken program be removed from the air.
"For years John and Ken have terrorized Los Angeles' Latino, Asian American and African American communities, creating an atmosphere of hate and intolerance and legitimizing violence and discrimination," the letter said. "There is every reason to believe it is John and Ken's intent to incite these verbal assaults and threats."
This month, the Korean American Community Lawyers Assn. also wrote to the station to complain about racist comments against Asians made by host Bill Handel during the "Handel on the Law" show, including one segment in which he said "Korean people hate Filipinos [except] when you're spending money there and they love you when you're cooking up your dog."
Brad Lee, the association's president, said Handel walked out of a meeting where the matter was discussed.
For his part, Cabrera said he was prepared to meet with the station's management sometime in the next several days to discuss the incident but that the demand that the hosts be taken off the air would not change.
"We are not against anyone being against our philosophy," he said. "But when they get to the level of acting like thugs with a microphone, then that's the problem."
The popular KFI radio hosts gave out the cellphone number of an immigrant rights activist, prompting hate-filled calls. Minority and immigrant rights groups say they will boycott advertisers if the show isn't taken off the air.
Photo: John Kobylt, left, and Ken Chiampou host an afternoon show on Los Angeles' KFI-AM (640). On Sept. 1, they gave out the cellphone number of an immigrants' rights activist, who then received many angry calls. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)Long-time ILLEGAL immigrant rights activist Jorge-Mario Cabrera is used to being called to task for his views. But when radio hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou recently gave out his cellphone number on the air in a campaign against the California Dream Act, he found himself unprepared for the barrage of hate-filled phone calls that followed.
"Hi, this message is for Mr. Cabrera," one caller said in a voice mail transcribed by Cabrera. "Listen, you pile of garbage…You need to pack your [expletive] up and go back to wherever it is you came from. Nobody wants you here. You are invading the legal people that are in this country and ruining this country. I hope you choke in your own vomit."
In the days after the KFI-AM (640) radio hosts read Cabrera's cellphone and office numbers on the air and told listeners opposed to state tuition assistance for illegal immigrants to call him, Cabrera, a spokesman for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, got more than 400 calls, many of them filled with hateful language and calls for violence.
"It's never been as cutting, as humiliating as these calls were," Cabrera said. "These calls were intent to diminish me as a person."
The incident struck a chord among leaders of civil and immigrant rights groups across the state, many of whom saw it as the latest example in a long history of the popular radio show inciting anger and vitriol.
"It was the last straw," said Alex Nogales, president and chief executive of the National Hispanic Media Coalition. "These guys have been at it day in and day out. It's the same ugly rhetoric."
The National Hispanic Media Coalition led what some believe was a successful campaign to get television host Lou Dobbs off the air at CNN for similar reasons. Dobbs resigned days after the coalition's president met with the head of the news network, but the network has denied that the meeting led to the resignation.
Now the coalition has joined with several major Latino and immigrant rights groups, including the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and the National Immigration Law Center, in calling on the radio station to remove the show's hosts or face a boycott of its sponsors.
Robin Bertolucci, KFI's programming director, declined to discuss the incident but said she planned to meet soon with the group's representatives.
"We're looking forward to talking to them," she said. "I think that's the best place for us to discuss it."
The 'John and Ken' show is one of the most popular programs on one of the most popular radio stations in the region, and listeners seem to relish the hosts' anger and sense of outrage. While Illegal immigration has long been a particular focus of the show, it's only one of several favorite targets — the hosts have railed against taxes, labor unions and other pet causes for years with equally incendiary rhetoric.
The duo regularly uses cutting language to talk about legislators and often ask listeners to call the public phone lines of politicians who disagree with them.
Cabrera's numbers were read on air Sept. 1 during a campaign to defeat what the hosts call the "Illegal Alien California Dream Act," a reference to recently approved legislation that would extend state financial aid to college students who are in the U.S. illegally. Gov. Jerry Brown must still sign the bill before it becomes law.
John and Ken urged listeners to call Cabrera, saying he was planning a celebration "on the theft of tax money for illegal aliens." The phone calls started coming and, weeks later, still haven't completely stopped, Cabrera said. One man has called 32 times. Some calls were benign, like one woman who spoke in Spanish and said Cabrera's organization should work to benefit people who are in the country legally. Others were not:
"I hope somebody shoots you"; "fat pig…"; "We don't want your people here. You are dirty, you don't have any social skills…I hope you fall off the earth"; "I hope you're hit by a car walking across the street"; "Listen you pile of garbage, I hope you get … cancer tomorrow and start to die."
Henry Fernandez, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, who has reviewed some of the messages said that although the radio hosts didn't use such language themselves, they should be held accountable.
"They gave out the telephone number knowing that hateful and violent calls or threatening calls would be made to this individual," he said. "I don't think it's acceptable for radio hosts or television personalities to walk away from the violence that they incite."
Last week, the leaders of a dozen groups sent a letter to the station's market manager, program director and to Clear Channel Communications, which owns the station, asking for a meeting and demanding the John and Ken program be removed from the air.
"For years John and Ken have terrorized Los Angeles' Latino, Asian American and African American communities, creating an atmosphere of hate and intolerance and legitimizing violence and discrimination," the letter said. "There is every reason to believe it is John and Ken's intent to incite these verbal assaults and threats."
This month, the Korean American Community Lawyers Assn. also wrote to the station to complain about racist comments against Asians made by host Bill Handel during the "Handel on the Law" show, including one segment in which he said "Korean people hate Filipinos [except] when you're spending money there and they love you when you're cooking up your dog."
Brad Lee, the association's president, said Handel walked out of a meeting where the matter was discussed.
For his part, Cabrera said he was prepared to meet with the station's management sometime in the next several days to discuss the incident but that the demand that the hosts be taken off the air would not change.
"We are not against anyone being against our philosophy," he said. "But when they get to the level of acting like thugs with a microphone, then that's the problem."
Another Al-Qaida Thug Dead
I do have to hand it to the Obama administration- they are really going after the Taliban and Al-Qaida leaders and making a big difference in the war on terrorists.
From the Huff Post: In a significant new blow to al-Qaida, U.S. airstrikes in Yemen on Friday killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an American militant cleric who became a prominent figure in the terror network's most dangerous branch, using his fluent English and Internet savvy to draw recruits for attacks in the United States.
The strike was the biggest U.S. success in hitting al-Qaida's leadership since the May killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. But it raises questions that other strikes did not: Al-Awlaki was an American citizen who has not been charged with any crime. Civil liberties groups have questioned the government's authority to kill an American without trial.
The 40-year-old al-Awlaki was for years an influential mouthpiece for al-Qaida's ideology of holy war, and his English-language sermons urging attacks on the United States were widely circulated among militants in the West.
But U.S. officials say he moved into a direct operational role in organizing such attacks as he hid alongside al-Qaida militants in the rugged mountains of Yemen. Most notably, they believe he was involved in recruiting and preparing a young Nigerian who on Christmas Day 2009 tried to blow up a U.S. airliner heading to Detroit, failing only because he botched the detonation of explosives sewn into his underpants.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/30/anwar-alawlaki-usborn-mus_n_988397.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Chp-desktop%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%7C100362
He was killed in a Drone/air strike in Yemen.
Just curious, did we ever declare war on Yemen? I'm glad we got him, but this another country we are bombing, joining Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya and now Yemen.
But hey, we are the U.S., we can do whatever we want, right?
Anyways, good job to the military and the intelligence community for getting this thug.
From the Huff Post: In a significant new blow to al-Qaida, U.S. airstrikes in Yemen on Friday killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an American militant cleric who became a prominent figure in the terror network's most dangerous branch, using his fluent English and Internet savvy to draw recruits for attacks in the United States.
The strike was the biggest U.S. success in hitting al-Qaida's leadership since the May killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. But it raises questions that other strikes did not: Al-Awlaki was an American citizen who has not been charged with any crime. Civil liberties groups have questioned the government's authority to kill an American without trial.
The 40-year-old al-Awlaki was for years an influential mouthpiece for al-Qaida's ideology of holy war, and his English-language sermons urging attacks on the United States were widely circulated among militants in the West.
But U.S. officials say he moved into a direct operational role in organizing such attacks as he hid alongside al-Qaida militants in the rugged mountains of Yemen. Most notably, they believe he was involved in recruiting and preparing a young Nigerian who on Christmas Day 2009 tried to blow up a U.S. airliner heading to Detroit, failing only because he botched the detonation of explosives sewn into his underpants.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/30/anwar-alawlaki-usborn-mus_n_988397.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Chp-desktop%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%7C100362
He was killed in a Drone/air strike in Yemen.
Just curious, did we ever declare war on Yemen? I'm glad we got him, but this another country we are bombing, joining Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya and now Yemen.
But hey, we are the U.S., we can do whatever we want, right?
Anyways, good job to the military and the intelligence community for getting this thug.
Friday Beauty
I must admit i didn't know much about her acting career but knew her from my friend's blogs and Tumblrs, she's what i'd call an exotic beauty, there's something about her that draws my attention.
Little did i know that i own one of her cinematic classics on DVD, yes i have "Big Mama's House 2"!
I think she's great reading the vapid lines on her new tv series "Two Broke Girls" but she's paired up with a horrible actress and this situation "comedy" is so cliche and horrible.
I hope she gets better roles deserving of her talent!
Take the money and run Kat!
Prosecutors: Man captured on video giving stolen laptop to girlfriend
A security software program on a stolen laptop computer captured a man giving the computer to his girlfriend as a gift after he allegedly stole it from a college dorm room in April, officials said today.
Christopher Hardrick, 22, was ordered held on $75,000 bail today by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Donald Panarese in connection with an April 3 burglary of a dorm room at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said Andy Conklin, a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.
Hardrick, of the 1600 block of East 50th Street, was on video giving the laptop to his girlfriend as a gift, Conklin said. A security software program tracked the laptop when it was used, he said.
In court today, prosecutors said photos of Hardrick and his girlfriend were also downloaded on the computer.
Hardrick is one of three men charged in a string of burglaries that occurred about 4 a.m. April 3 at the dorm located on the 900 block of West Harrison Street, Conklin said.
The suspects were also caught on video surveillance at the campus, said Bill Burton, spokesman for UIC. The tape also aided in their arrests, he said.
Burton could not confirm if the men were part of a group, but did say the burglaries happened on the same night.
Also charged were Jermont Jones, 20, of the 12400 block of South Meadow Lane in Blue Island, and Jaron Orr, 20, of the 5300 block of South Michigan Avenue. Both men were charged with four counts of burglary, Conklin said.
Jones pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years probation. The case against Orr was still pending.
Hardrick's girlfriend returned the laptop to police, Conklin said.
So, What Is The Country's Biggest Fraud?
It is well known, perhaps, that kids of illegal aliens qualify for free or reduced lunch at the schools they attend. The children can also be illegal's and they get can get free lunch, paid for by the U.S. taxpayer.
At the school I teach at the cash price for breakfast is $1.50 and for lunch is $3.00.
You also can lie on the application form on how much money a family makes because there is no verification of income levels.
I have to assume that is the going rate of reimbursement from the federal government- $4.50 a day for each illegal alien child and lying family. So, if 10,000 students are illegal or their families lied on the application, out of 300,000 students in CCSD, each day it costs taxpayers $45,000, just in Clark County alone. Multiply this throughout the country and you are wasting well over a million dollars a day in free and reduced lunch.
I send my kids to school with a sack lunch- sandwich, juice, dessert, fruit and it certainly costs less than $4.50- maybe $1.50 a day, and the kids don't have to stand in line.
So, why are we, the taxpayers, paying for free lunch for illegal immigrant families and others who lie on their forms?
Why can't the illegal families send a cold lunch to school with their children instead of stealing money from the U.S. taxpayer? For about a dollar a day, they can send a bologna or another meat sandwich or peanut butter and jelly sandwich, juice, dessert and a piece of fruit. Same with people who lie on their forms?
But the families would rather seek the welfare of the government and the school districts do not care. The school district and federal government encourage as many students as possible sign up for the free lunch. The more kids signed up, the more money the school district gets. And the more kids signed up, the more breaks they get in No Child Left Behind and eligible for more federal money for education, like Title 1 funding.
And the kids learn more about waste and welfare under the free and reduced lunch.
I am in our school's cafeteria after breakfast and lunch. There is so much good food thrown away every day. Cartons upon cartons of good apple juice and milk are thrown away each day. My guess is at least 50 cartons of juice and probably at least 100 cartons of milk are thrown away from 1 high school each day. Now multiply this against a big school district like Las Vegas and you throw away 1000 or more cartons of juice or milk each day. Drinks that could supply a homeless shelter or food bank forever. Then you have the solid food like sandwiches, pizza and other items and you could start a restaurant or soup kitchens with just the wasted food from 1 or 2 schools.
So, everyday, there are hundreds, if not thousands of kids in the Clark County School District who get free lunch because they are not citizens of the U.S. and there are others who lie on the free lunch application. And the the CCSD and the Federal government supports it. And then when kids are given free food, many-but not all- just waste the food and the school district ends up throwing away hundreds if not thousands of cartons of milk and juice away in the garbage can everyday.
If this program is not the biggest fraud against taxpayers, I don't know what is.
At the school I teach at the cash price for breakfast is $1.50 and for lunch is $3.00.
You also can lie on the application form on how much money a family makes because there is no verification of income levels.
I have to assume that is the going rate of reimbursement from the federal government- $4.50 a day for each illegal alien child and lying family. So, if 10,000 students are illegal or their families lied on the application, out of 300,000 students in CCSD, each day it costs taxpayers $45,000, just in Clark County alone. Multiply this throughout the country and you are wasting well over a million dollars a day in free and reduced lunch.
I send my kids to school with a sack lunch- sandwich, juice, dessert, fruit and it certainly costs less than $4.50- maybe $1.50 a day, and the kids don't have to stand in line.
So, why are we, the taxpayers, paying for free lunch for illegal immigrant families and others who lie on their forms?
Why can't the illegal families send a cold lunch to school with their children instead of stealing money from the U.S. taxpayer? For about a dollar a day, they can send a bologna or another meat sandwich or peanut butter and jelly sandwich, juice, dessert and a piece of fruit. Same with people who lie on their forms?
But the families would rather seek the welfare of the government and the school districts do not care. The school district and federal government encourage as many students as possible sign up for the free lunch. The more kids signed up, the more money the school district gets. And the more kids signed up, the more breaks they get in No Child Left Behind and eligible for more federal money for education, like Title 1 funding.
And the kids learn more about waste and welfare under the free and reduced lunch.
I am in our school's cafeteria after breakfast and lunch. There is so much good food thrown away every day. Cartons upon cartons of good apple juice and milk are thrown away each day. My guess is at least 50 cartons of juice and probably at least 100 cartons of milk are thrown away from 1 high school each day. Now multiply this against a big school district like Las Vegas and you throw away 1000 or more cartons of juice or milk each day. Drinks that could supply a homeless shelter or food bank forever. Then you have the solid food like sandwiches, pizza and other items and you could start a restaurant or soup kitchens with just the wasted food from 1 or 2 schools.
So, everyday, there are hundreds, if not thousands of kids in the Clark County School District who get free lunch because they are not citizens of the U.S. and there are others who lie on the free lunch application. And the the CCSD and the Federal government supports it. And then when kids are given free food, many-but not all- just waste the food and the school district ends up throwing away hundreds if not thousands of cartons of milk and juice away in the garbage can everyday.
If this program is not the biggest fraud against taxpayers, I don't know what is.
Baseball Predictions
Well, baseball post season is upon us and my favorite team is in the running for once. The Milwaukee Brewers were in the playoffs a couple of years ago but they never had a chance but this year????
In the first round, the Arizona Diamondbacks come to Milwaukee and I think the Brewers will win this series.
The St. Louis Cardinals are going against the Philadelphia Phillies. St. Louis has been on a roll lately, Philly is good but I go with the Philly Fanatic.
In the NL Championships, I predict the Milwaukee Brewers will defeat the Phillies
In the AL, you have the Yankees play the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees are not playing that well and the Tigers are, so I go with the Tigers.
Then the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play the Texas Rangers and the Ray's luck runs out and the Rangers take this series.
In the AL Championship, The Tigers will prevail over the Rangers.
In the World Series, the Brewers win in 7.
And if you believe that, I have the Empire State Building at NY NY casino for sale.
In the first round, the Arizona Diamondbacks come to Milwaukee and I think the Brewers will win this series.
The St. Louis Cardinals are going against the Philadelphia Phillies. St. Louis has been on a roll lately, Philly is good but I go with the Philly Fanatic.
In the NL Championships, I predict the Milwaukee Brewers will defeat the Phillies
In the AL, you have the Yankees play the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees are not playing that well and the Tigers are, so I go with the Tigers.
Then the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play the Texas Rangers and the Ray's luck runs out and the Rangers take this series.
In the AL Championship, The Tigers will prevail over the Rangers.
In the World Series, the Brewers win in 7.
And if you believe that, I have the Empire State Building at NY NY casino for sale.
How Popular Are Pawn Stars?
On Monday night, Pawn stars are quite popular, just trailing NFL football and ESPN's Sports Center, which follows Monday Night Football in cable TV ratings.
The 10:00 Pawn Stars had a rating of 1.6 with 4,224,ooo viewers: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/09/27/monday-cable-monday-night-football-huge-wwe-raw-pawn-stars-american-pickers-more/105028/
The 10:30 show was just slightly less with a rating of 1.5 and 4,009.000 viewers.
Pawn Stars also beat The Playboy Club of NBC in the number of viewers which had 3,910,000 viewers at 10:00.
Hard Core Pawn is still the ugly baby sister of Pawns Stars as they had 2,084,000 viewers: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/09/28/tuesday-cable-sons-of-anarchy-teen-mom-awkward-chopped-workaholics-more/105227/
Other surprise ratings is the liberal Colbert News/Comedy show which had 1,318,000 liberal viewers. And bringing up the rear is the Conan Show with 721,000 viewers.
So, Pawn Stars continue to lead the ratings on cable TV. No wonder why they just got a new contract.
The 10:00 Pawn Stars had a rating of 1.6 with 4,224,ooo viewers: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/09/27/monday-cable-monday-night-football-huge-wwe-raw-pawn-stars-american-pickers-more/105028/
The 10:30 show was just slightly less with a rating of 1.5 and 4,009.000 viewers.
Pawn Stars also beat The Playboy Club of NBC in the number of viewers which had 3,910,000 viewers at 10:00.
Hard Core Pawn is still the ugly baby sister of Pawns Stars as they had 2,084,000 viewers: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/09/28/tuesday-cable-sons-of-anarchy-teen-mom-awkward-chopped-workaholics-more/105227/
Other surprise ratings is the liberal Colbert News/Comedy show which had 1,318,000 liberal viewers. And bringing up the rear is the Conan Show with 721,000 viewers.
So, Pawn Stars continue to lead the ratings on cable TV. No wonder why they just got a new contract.
Next To be Banned: Model Airplanes?
From the El Paso Times: Model airplanes are suddenly on the public's radar as potential terrorist weapons.
A 26-year-old man from a Boston suburb was arrested Wednesday and accused of plotting to attack the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol with remote-controlled model planes packed with explosives.
These are not balsa-wood-and-rubber-band toys investigators are talking about. The FBI said Rezwan Ferdaus hoped to use military-jet replicas, 5 to 7 1/2 feet long, guided by GPS devices and capable of speeds over 100 mph.
Federal officials have long been aware of the possibility someone might try to use such planes as weapons, but there are no restrictions on their purchase - Ferdaus is said to have bought his over the Internet.
Counterterrorism experts and model-aircraft hobbyists said it would be nearly impossible to inflict large-scale damage of the sort Ferdaus allegedly envisioned using model planes. The aircraft are too small, can't carry enough explosives and are too tricky to fly, they said.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_19007200
Yeah, well, what was all that talk about biological and chemical weapons being used in small amounts but can kill a lot of people?
There will be some goofball member of a government agency who will call for more regulations on model airplanes or just to ban them all together.
Probably will try the same thing with model rockets as well.
A 26-year-old man from a Boston suburb was arrested Wednesday and accused of plotting to attack the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol with remote-controlled model planes packed with explosives.
These are not balsa-wood-and-rubber-band toys investigators are talking about. The FBI said Rezwan Ferdaus hoped to use military-jet replicas, 5 to 7 1/2 feet long, guided by GPS devices and capable of speeds over 100 mph.
Federal officials have long been aware of the possibility someone might try to use such planes as weapons, but there are no restrictions on their purchase - Ferdaus is said to have bought his over the Internet.
Counterterrorism experts and model-aircraft hobbyists said it would be nearly impossible to inflict large-scale damage of the sort Ferdaus allegedly envisioned using model planes. The aircraft are too small, can't carry enough explosives and are too tricky to fly, they said.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_19007200
Yeah, well, what was all that talk about biological and chemical weapons being used in small amounts but can kill a lot of people?
There will be some goofball member of a government agency who will call for more regulations on model airplanes or just to ban them all together.
Probably will try the same thing with model rockets as well.
Hey, CCSD, Want To Save Some Money?
In Wisconsin, state and local governments are now not allowed to collect union from their union members and the world has not fallen apart.
So, why doesn't CCSD (Clark County School District) do the same thing? I am sure there is at least 1 or more employees doing this paperwork.
Or if the union still wants CCSD to take out the union dues, then CCSD should charge the union, like 10% of the dues that are brought in seems like a fair number.
But the school district needs to get out of the business of dues collecting and cutting a check unless they are well paid by the union.
So, why doesn't CCSD (Clark County School District) do the same thing? I am sure there is at least 1 or more employees doing this paperwork.
Or if the union still wants CCSD to take out the union dues, then CCSD should charge the union, like 10% of the dues that are brought in seems like a fair number.
But the school district needs to get out of the business of dues collecting and cutting a check unless they are well paid by the union.
What Came First, The Chavez Or The Obama?
Taking off on the everlasting question, what came first, the chicken or the egg, the question of this decade is what came first, The Chavez or the Obama in terms of rhetoric and plans of action. Either way, much of the the media in the US and Venezuela seems to be the same.
From the English version of the El Universal: Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez Frías announced on Monday that he has approved a decree to nationalize and seize the company Consolidada de Ferrys (Conferry) to ensure the safety of passengers who use ferry service to travel to the state of Nueva Esparta (northeastern Venezuela).
"It is enough! The ferry (service) of Conferry is a disaster!" Chávez said in a telephone interview with the state-run TV channel Venezolana de Televisión, the state-owned news agency AVN reported.
Chávez said that he already has a diagnosis and a recovery plan with regard to the ferry company.
"We know where the damaged ferries are and the prices they charge people. Elías Jaua (the Venezuelan Vice-President) is in charge of the task," Chávez added.
In addition to this, the Venezuelan Head of State ordered a thorough investigation into two aircraft events on Monday in the state of Bolívar.
"I called (Vice-President) Elías (Jaua), and ordered a thorough and urgent investigation. We have to put pressure on state-run and private companies to comply with maintenance of aircraft," he concluded.
http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/110927/president-approves-takeover-of-ferry-service
This is the same kind of rhetoric that President Obama uses. He makes up an emergency, uses forceful and then takes over the industry. He, along with President Bush did with the auto and banking industries, and Obama with health care, jobs, debt etc.
And the lap dog media sucks it up for Obama just as much as they do in Venezuela.
So, who did come first, the Obama or the Chavez?
From the English version of the El Universal: Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez Frías announced on Monday that he has approved a decree to nationalize and seize the company Consolidada de Ferrys (Conferry) to ensure the safety of passengers who use ferry service to travel to the state of Nueva Esparta (northeastern Venezuela).
"It is enough! The ferry (service) of Conferry is a disaster!" Chávez said in a telephone interview with the state-run TV channel Venezolana de Televisión, the state-owned news agency AVN reported.
Chávez said that he already has a diagnosis and a recovery plan with regard to the ferry company.
"We know where the damaged ferries are and the prices they charge people. Elías Jaua (the Venezuelan Vice-President) is in charge of the task," Chávez added.
In addition to this, the Venezuelan Head of State ordered a thorough investigation into two aircraft events on Monday in the state of Bolívar.
"I called (Vice-President) Elías (Jaua), and ordered a thorough and urgent investigation. We have to put pressure on state-run and private companies to comply with maintenance of aircraft," he concluded.
http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/110927/president-approves-takeover-of-ferry-service
This is the same kind of rhetoric that President Obama uses. He makes up an emergency, uses forceful and then takes over the industry. He, along with President Bush did with the auto and banking industries, and Obama with health care, jobs, debt etc.
And the lap dog media sucks it up for Obama just as much as they do in Venezuela.
So, who did come first, the Obama or the Chavez?
Michelle Obama photographed shopping at D.C.-area Target
The first lady shops at Target -- just like us!
An Associated Press photographer on Thursday snapped some choice photos of Michelle Obama in the checkout line of a Target store just outside Washington for what her office says was a "routine errand," the likes of which she does often.
The first lady appears to have been trying to pick up some items incognito. She is seen sporting a Nike cap and large, dark sunglasses.
Photos: Michelle Obama shops at Target
"It is not uncommon for the first lady to slip out to run an errand, eat at a local restaurant or otherwise enjoy the city outside the White House gates," said Kristina Schake, communications director for the first lady.
It's unclear how the photo came about; her office said the photographer, Charles Dharapak, "caught her" at the store.
President Obama has often mused about how he wishes he could break outside the "bubble" he has to travel in. The first lady does not have the same full-time entourage of reporters as her husband.
But she, too, has spoken of some frustration about how living in the White House has changed her routine.
"Before we lived here, we were normal people. I had a job, I drove my own car, I took my kids to school every day. I went to Target and shopped for my groceries," she said at an April event for children of White House staff.
Upgrading all the Chicago fire department ambulances - Which means you can expect large ambulance fee raises next
Rahm Emanuel planning to upgrade care on city ambulance fleet, sources say
It looks like Chicago’s 11-year foray into a two-tiered system of ambulance care may be coming to an end. Sources said Mayor Rahm Emanuel is preparing to phase out the city’s 15 basic life support ambulances and switch them all to advanced life support.
___________________________________________
Detective Shavedlongcock:
Here are the current rates for Chicago Fire Department Ambulance Fees:
Basic life support: $725.00 ... Advanced life support II: $1025.00
If the city upgrades all BASIC LIFE SUPPORT AMBULANCES to ADVANCE LIFE SUPPORT AMBULANCES....
ALL AMBULANCE FEES WOULD BE INCREASED TO $1025.00
And the Mayor won't call it an increase because you are now getting a ADVANCE LIFE SUPPORT AMBULANCE even if you don't need it....
Not a good day for railroad crossings in Chicagoland... Multiple accidents today
4 injured after van hits railroad crossing gate on South SideFour people were hospitalized this afternoon after a van hit a railroad crossing in the Grand Crossing neighborhood, fire officials said.
The accident happened shortly after 3 p.m. near the intersection of 71st Street and Stony Island Avenue, according to Chicago Fire Department officials. Some of those injured were children.
Officials said no train was involved and that the van hit a crossing gate.
The accident spurred an EMS Plan 1 response which called for six ambulances to the scene, officials said. Previously, officials said six people had been injured.
The people were in stable condition, officials said.
Train hits woman on Far South SideA woman was seriously injured when she was struck by a train on the Far South Side this afternoon, authorities said.
The woman was hit by a train near 115th Street and Perry Avenue about 5 p.m., said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Daniel O'Brien.
She was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in serious-to-critical condition, said Will Knight, a spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department.
A spokesman with the Union Pacific Railroad did not immediately have information on the incident.
Woman on bike struck by train on Southwest SideA woman on a bicycle was struck by a train and injured this afternoon on the Southwest Side this afternoon, police said.
The woman, believed to be between the ages of 50 and 60, was struck by a freight train about 4:04 p.m. in the 4500 block of West 59th Street, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Daniel O'Brien. The woman was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn for treatment, O'Brien said. The extent of her injuries was not immediately known.
A witness who came upon the scene of the accident this afternoon said officials on the scene said the woman was riding a bicycle and apparently tried to cross as the freight train was approaching. The accident happened at a street-level railroad crossing, the witness said.
The freight train was stopped following the accident, blocking crossings at 59th Street, 55th Street and Archer Avenue, the witness said.
John "Quarters" Boyle stole millions of dollars from the tollway in quarters...So 12 toll takers skimming $25 grand is not that big of a deal...
The Illinois Tollway said today it has caught 12 employees who allegedly stole as much as $25,000 in tolls over the past several years and has pressed criminal charges against several of them.
One former toll collector took as much as $7,000 over the past seven years. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft, resigned and has repaid the money, according to tollway Inspector General James Wagner.
All the employees involved in the thefts have either resigned or been terminated by the tollway, and a total of $25,500 in restitution has been returned to the tollway during the past six months, the agency said.
The 12 employees either collected toll payments and kept the money, or allowed drivers through without paying and incorrectly classified the vehicles as emergency vehicles exempt from tolls.
The unusually high number of emergency vehicles was identified by the toll audit section of the Internal Audit Department and forwarded to the inspector general.
In addition, the inspector general is preparing an evaluation of toll collection processes, including suggestions for potential improvements to ensure that the abuse of emergency vehicle classification cannot occur in the future, the tollway said.
Other investigations resulted in disciplinary action against two employees collecting benefits for which they did not qualify and termination of one employee who was conducting non-tollway business during work hours and misusing a non-revenue transponder, the tollway said.
“The Illinois Tollway has zero tolerance for theft or misuse of public funds,” Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur said in a statement. “We have worked swiftly to refer cases to the inspector gGeneral when inconsistencies and complaints arise and will continue to crack down on employees who try to steal from the tollway to the fullest extent possible.”
REQUEST FROM FAMILY & NURSES: Please no more phone calls to Densey Cole's hospital room....
The Cole Family and hospital staff is asking for a period of peace, quiet and relaxation for Densey Cole......
The overwhelming number of phone calls have been inspirational but Densey needs some rest at this time.
Thank You!
TOO BAD - NOW GET THE F' OUT OF HERE! Deportation would force 19-year-old and mom to leave 'everything I know', including dad and siblings
Nobody is stopping your dad and siblings from going with... THAT IS THEIR DECISION TO STAY AND WATCH YOU TWO LEAVE!
Photo: Nadia Habib who is facing deportation to Bangladesh, packs at her Queens home Wednesday night. Her and her mother are only allowed one 50-lb suitcase
New York - Her suitcase is packed, but a Queens teen facing deportation Thursday spent what could be her last hours in America hoping she doesn't have to go.
"I know it's real," said Nadia Habib, 19, a Stony Brook University junior and Bronx High School of Science grad who came to the U.S. as a baby.
"It's been really hectic and nerve-racking with my family," she said. "The past three weeks I feel like I've had to grow up a lot."
Habib was set to report with her mom, Nazmin, to Federal Plaza by 11 a.m. this morning to be deported to Bangladesh, leaving behind her dad and her three siblings, who were born here and are U.S. citizens.
"I could be literally leaving everything I know," Habib said. "Leaving would mean being separated from my brothers, my baby sister and my Dad."
She and her mother each can bring just one piece of luggage, weighing only 50 pounds.
"There's no way I can fit everything," said Habib, who said she just threw in some clothes and shoes - finding it impossible to pack up her whole life to go to a country she never knew. She doesn't even speak Bengali.
"I've always considered myself as American as anyone else," she said.
The family's Woodside home was full of neighborhood friends, trying to calm her mother and praying that the two will be able to stay.
"I have never seen her [my mom] crying so much as in this past week," Habib said.
For a decade, Habib's mom has been trying to reopen their bid for asylum. But on Sept. 10, the pair got a letter from the feds saying they had to leave.
Their lawyer, Aygul Charles, put in a request on Monday with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop the deportation - and asked that Habib and her mother be allowed to stay for humanitarian reasons.
"There has not been an official response," Charles said. "It's coming down to the wire."
The Habibs' case is especially compelling, Charles said, because the feds recently said they would follow new deportation priorities and focus on booting immigrants with criminal records.
Officials are reviewing 300,000 pending deportations and plan to let some law-abiding immigrants with ties to the U.S. stay temporarily and get permission to work.
An ICE spokesman would not comment on the specifics of the Habibs' case but said deportation priority decisions are made on a "case-by-case basis."
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-N.Y.) office has been talking with ICE on the family's behalf, said spokeswoman Angie Hu.
"We expect that ICE will fully and fairly consider the family's request," said Hu.
Just a few days ago, Habib, who is studying psychology and wants to be a drug researcher, was trying to focus on midterms. But during a weekend drive around Stony Brook with friends, she broke down and cried.
"I thought, this could be the last time I see this certain part of sky," she said.
Photo: Nadia Habib with her family. Her father and three siblings are U.S. citizens.
Photo: Nadia Habib who is facing deportation to Bangladesh, packs at her Queens home Wednesday night. Her and her mother are only allowed one 50-lb suitcaseNew York - Her suitcase is packed, but a Queens teen facing deportation Thursday spent what could be her last hours in America hoping she doesn't have to go.
"I know it's real," said Nadia Habib, 19, a Stony Brook University junior and Bronx High School of Science grad who came to the U.S. as a baby.
"It's been really hectic and nerve-racking with my family," she said. "The past three weeks I feel like I've had to grow up a lot."
Habib was set to report with her mom, Nazmin, to Federal Plaza by 11 a.m. this morning to be deported to Bangladesh, leaving behind her dad and her three siblings, who were born here and are U.S. citizens.
"I could be literally leaving everything I know," Habib said. "Leaving would mean being separated from my brothers, my baby sister and my Dad."
She and her mother each can bring just one piece of luggage, weighing only 50 pounds.
"There's no way I can fit everything," said Habib, who said she just threw in some clothes and shoes - finding it impossible to pack up her whole life to go to a country she never knew. She doesn't even speak Bengali.
"I've always considered myself as American as anyone else," she said.
The family's Woodside home was full of neighborhood friends, trying to calm her mother and praying that the two will be able to stay.
"I have never seen her [my mom] crying so much as in this past week," Habib said.
For a decade, Habib's mom has been trying to reopen their bid for asylum. But on Sept. 10, the pair got a letter from the feds saying they had to leave.
Their lawyer, Aygul Charles, put in a request on Monday with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop the deportation - and asked that Habib and her mother be allowed to stay for humanitarian reasons.
"There has not been an official response," Charles said. "It's coming down to the wire."
The Habibs' case is especially compelling, Charles said, because the feds recently said they would follow new deportation priorities and focus on booting immigrants with criminal records.
Officials are reviewing 300,000 pending deportations and plan to let some law-abiding immigrants with ties to the U.S. stay temporarily and get permission to work.
An ICE spokesman would not comment on the specifics of the Habibs' case but said deportation priority decisions are made on a "case-by-case basis."
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-N.Y.) office has been talking with ICE on the family's behalf, said spokeswoman Angie Hu.
"We expect that ICE will fully and fairly consider the family's request," said Hu.
Just a few days ago, Habib, who is studying psychology and wants to be a drug researcher, was trying to focus on midterms. But during a weekend drive around Stony Brook with friends, she broke down and cried.
"I thought, this could be the last time I see this certain part of sky," she said.
Photo: Nadia Habib with her family. Her father and three siblings are U.S. citizens.
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