An Open Letter to Mayor Richard M. Daley (Failure)

A must-read, this hard-hitting letter was posted by Paul Huebl on Sept. 2 - before Mayor Daley announced he would not run again. Still, Daley's successor and the entire City Council, not to mention every rational citizen of Chicago, needs to read this: An Open Letter to Mayor Richard M. Daley: "Dear Mayor Daley: I was born and raised in Chicago. Your father was an honorable and good Mayor that deserved my vote. Unfortunately... You have turned over the streets to armed criminals. That’s because you left the law-abiding defenseless by violating their Civil Rights to protect themselves under the Second Amendment. Cops always used department provided ammunition to qualify on a firing range four times per year. If they had to shoot extra ammunition to qualify that was also provided. Now you have police qualifying only once per year with a measly 30 rounds. That endangers the police and public. Additionally it creates liability issues potentially costing many millions of dollars." Read the full post at Crime, Guns and Videotape...

Mayor Daley Will NOT Run For Re-Election (Updated)

The long, dark nightmare is over. September 7, 2010 - 1:40 PM - Mayor Daley of Chicago will NOT run for a seventh term. Listen to Mayor Daley's announcement (mp3) at WLS. Chicago Breaking News has a little blurb about this, as do the Chicago Sun-Times and WSJ's MarketWatch, and CBS2 has a nifty video report with Skippy Jacobson. Watch for ad nauseum analysis beginning this afternoon about Daley's career as Da Mare. (Our own speculation: His internal polling showed that he could not have won.)

Search Warrant For Chicago's Mayor Daley?

July 31, 2010 - Chicago police officers were overheard talking about both a search warrant and Mayor Daley at 9:43 p.m. tonight. The officers, whose names are unknown, did not know that one of their microphone keys was "open," or pressed down, which allowed their conversation to be overheard on police radio scanners. We overheard the conversation on frequency 460.050, which is used by CPD Zone 2, Districts 19 and 23 on the city's north side. The female dispatcher frantically called out to all officers on that frequency to "Watch your keys, watch your keys, you're talking about a search warrant." Moments later, she said, "Watch your keys, you're talking about the mayor!" The mayor does not approve search warrants. That requires a judge. So why were the officers discussing a search warrant and Mayor Daley? Is Daley the warrant's target? Also See: Chicago Police Frequencies ChicagoScanner.com Live streaming Chicago Police frequencies ChicagoScanner.com

7 Wounded, 1 Dead in Shootings on Chicago's South Side

July 20, 2010 - Last night, Chicago police were involved in four separate gunfights on the South Side and in the Little Village neighborhood (map). There were at least four shooting incidents (as you'll read below). All together, at least seven people were struck by gunfire (no police officers) with at least one dead. A CPD officer who I know was involved with two of the incidents. He phoned me on his way home at 10:20 p.m. and said he was involved with the 9:00 p.m. incidents in the 6300 block of South Vernon (map) and the one in the Back of the Yards neighborhood (map). He said the police had to pull out their rifles for these. My friend told me that he personally saw five bad guys get shot, one of whom he saw die at the scene, not later in the hospital as reported by the Chicago Tribune. Exclusive: My officer friend was involved with incidents One and Two, detailed below. What my officer friend told me, and what the Chicago Tribune story below does not tell you, is that police went to the 6300 block of South Vernon to quell a fight between two gangs, and the gangs then turned their fire on the police. So, with that extra tidbit from us exclusively, here's what the Trib reported late Monday night: Incident #One, 9:00 PM: In the most recent shooting, four men were shot in the West Woodlawn neighborhood, officials said. The shootings occurred on the 6300 block of South Vernon Avenue at about 9 p.m., said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Quention Curtis. (Editor's Note: My CPD officer friend said this happened in Englewood.) Incident #Two, 9:00 PM: In the Back of the Yards neighborhood, at about the same time, one person was reported shot on the 5100 block of South May Street, said Curtis. A spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office said they were notified of a shooting death at that address. The victim was taken in serious-to-critical condition to Stroger Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. (Editor's Note: My CPD officer friend was involved in this one, too, but he said he saw the victim die on the scene.) Incident #Three, 10:30 PM: About 10:30 p.m. in the Englewood neighborhood, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the 6800 block of South Justine Street. He was taken in serious-to-critical condition to Stroger Hospital, said Curtis. (Editor's Note: By this time, my CPD officer friend was pulling into his driveway at home.) Incident #Four, 7:13 PM: ....two 18-year-old men were shot in the Little Village neighborhood.... [They were shot] on the street on the 2100 block of South Spaulding Avenue at 7:13 p.m. .... Hey Chicago, how's that new restrictive handgun ordinance working out for ya? It sure has made the streets safer, hasn't it? That Mayor Daley and his City Clowncil are friggin' geniuses, ain't they?

Stupid Quotes About Guns By Chicago Aldermen

July 2, 2010 - The Democrat-dominated Chicago City Clowncil - excuse me, Council - today passed an ordinance that shows their utter and unanimous contempt for the U.S. Constitution and the recent ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court that upholds the Second Amendment. The Chicago Sun-Times reports today: Grumbling about a U.S. Supreme Court they say is out of touch with America’s cities, Chicago aldermen voted 45-0 today to approve a rushed-through compromise gun ban.... Within 100 days, anyone who wants to keep a gun in the city will have to register, get their training and pay the fees. Also within 100 days, any of the estimated 10,000 Chicagoans convicted of a gun offense will have to register at their local police station like sex offenders. In other words, the aldermen know that they have to live with the Second Amendment, but they'll be damned if they'll make it easy for citizens to actually excercise their right to own and bear arms. Which leads us to the main thrust of this post: Stupid things that aldermen said at today's council meeting (all quotes taken from the Sun-Times unless otherwise indicated): Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th) said that law was written for militias and, “they guaranteed the right to carry around muskets not Uzis.” Uhm, Ald. Smith, are you serious? I've met you, I've spoken to you, and you didn't seem as stupid as that quote makes you sound. Can you show us where in the Constitution the word "musket" or "muskets" appears? Furthermore, can you show us any evidence that the authors of the Constitution meant "muskets only?" For that matter, show us where that is in the Federalist Papers, or in any other writings by any of the Founders. Do you really believe, for example, that the Founders meant long guns and not pistols, swords, knives, bludgeons, or any other kind of weapon? “No Supreme Court judge could live in my community and come to the same conclusion they did a couple days ago,” said Ald. Sharon Denise Dixon (24th). As for Supreme Court judges living in the 24th Ward of Chicago and her presumption about their conclusion, well, the "judges" (justices) do live in Washington, D.C., a rough town in its own right. The same justices who ruled that D.C.'s handgun ban was unconstitutional in 2008. After that ruling (Heller), "violent crime fell" in D.C., says the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "even faster in the District of Columbia than in the U.S. as a whole. In 2009 alone, the District's murder total dropped 25 percent, to the lowest level since 1967." Of course, geniuses like Mayor Daley and Ald. Dixon are immune to hard facts. They'd rather go with the typical liberal emotional argument, facts be damned. The D.C. ban first went into effect in 1976, and according to the Washington Post it was essentially ineffective - gun violence "continued to plague the city, reaching staggering levels at times." Chicago's experience was virtually identical over the same period. Alderman Dixon needs to get out and talk to her constituents more. Is she completely unaware of the high rate of gun violence in her ward? Does she think that the majority of those shooting are by law-abiding folks, or perhaps by criminally-minded people who possess the guns illegally and won't give a damn about this new ordinance? “I find it hard to believe that the Supreme Court justices that voted to strike our handgun laws have spent any time in the communities that many of us represent,” Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) said. “There’s no way if they knew the violence our young people face every day that they could decide this was a reasonable course of action.”. Alderman Preckwinkle, see my remarks regarding Ald. Dixon's equally stupid remark, and know this: The violence that the American Revolutionaries faced everyday was worse than what your constituents see in the 4th Ward. Read the Federalist Papers. Stop believing the false myth that gun control reduces crime - it doesn't. The reason for the Second Amendment was so that the citizenry could protect itself. Yes, they had a tyrannical government in mind, but I seriously doubt that John Adams would object to a little old lady blowing away one of your drug-crazed, murder-bent 4th Ward residents as he breaks through her apartment door. The Supreme Court upheld the letter of the Second Amendment, Ald. Preckwinkle. Go tell the elderly, the small females, and the shop owners in your ward that you believe they have no right to protect themselves against an amoral segment of society, created and perpetuated in large part by the decayed moral "values" of liberals such as yourself. Go on, tell them. But Ald. Ed Burke (14th) retorted, “We can disagree with the Supreme Court all we want, but … this is the law and we’re going to have to follow it.” Burke's comment sounds reasonable at first, until you realize that he is saying that he disagrees with the Court's upholding of the U.S. Constitution. Why does Alderman Burke seem to resent having the Constitution applied equally to all Americans? He did redeem himself somewhat, however, when he said that he had to "confess that back in 1982, when I was chair of the police committee that perhaps I and so many others that voted in favor of this [handgun ban] ordinance exhibited too much ardor for the ban and we perhaps we should have been more sensitive to weighing the rights of legitimate citizens to have weapons." Well, that's nice, but notice Burke's elitist attitude in the "weighing of the rights" guaranteed by the Constitution. Still, Burke seemed determine to make an ass of himself. He also uttered this stupidity: “All the gang-bangers out there who have been convicted of gun offenses who think that they can flaunt this law, they’re going to be locked up,” Burke said. “Each day that you don’t register, it’s a separate offense. If you don’t register for 365 days, that’s 365 offenses.” Alderman Burke doesn't seem to understand that it's been primarily the bad guys who have committed gun offense. Does he not see the profound irony and simultaneous idiocy of his speaking about gang-bangers who have "been convicted of gun offenses," and are no longer imprisoned, and will - in his apparent opinion - have the opportunity to register for legal gun ownership? Does Ald. Burke favor allowing those who have been convicted for gun violence to be able to legally register - and own - a gun? His statement indicates so. Finally, Mayor Daley himself made another of his typically stupid statements. CNN quotes him as saying this: "Either we enact new and reasonable handgun laws in Chicago to protect our residents -- as the council has done -- or we do nothing and risk greater gun violence in our streets and in our homes," Mayor Daley said. Mayor Daley is a deaf, dumb and blind imbecile insofar as gun ownership is concerned. Nevertheless, somebody should urge him to read the the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Washington Post pieces that are referenced above. Then he should watch this short video by Penn and Teller (contains strong language):

Alert! Chicago City Council To Discuss Supreme Court Handgun Ruling

Action Alert! A source within the Chicago Police Department sent this email to me today: "Tomorrow's City Hall meeting at 1:00 p.m. [on Tues., June 29] will address today's Supreme Court decision concerning Chicago' gun ordinance. There will be buses from Area 3 [police] headquarters, 2352 W. Belmont, by 11:45 a.m. to City Hall. Please attend." Chicago's City Hall is located at 121 N La Salle Street in the "Loop" (map). His Supreme Highness Richard Daley's office is on the fifth floor, by the way. He loves having voters stop in, so go up and say hi. It should be a good show. While you're there, notice that even as Mayor Daley speaks about the evil of guns, the City Hall chambers will be protected by people who have - you guessed it - guns. Daley's own bodyguards, positioned nearby, will be carrying guns. Aldermen are (were) excempted from the handgun ban, and so there's a good chance that a few of them will be packing heat, too.

Where To Buy Guns and Ammo In Chicagoland

Ah, freedom. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Chicago's handgun ban as being unconstitutional. Mayor Daley, whose own bodyguards are heavily armed, must be soiling his pants this morning. Now that Chicagoans can legally possess a defensive weapon to protect themselves from the criminals who were never hobbled by the handgun ban, we thought we'd help you find a place near you at which you can load up on the latest self-preservation technology. In other words, guns and ammo. Click the map and start shopping. View Larger Map

At Blackhawks Rally, Crowd Boos Mayor Daley, Gov. Quinn

June 11, 2010 - Thousands of Chicagoans and Blackhawks fans gathered to celebrate the winning of the Stanley Cup this morning. They were in a good mood and all were happy to see the players. But the mood turned surly for a little bit when Chicago Mayor Daley and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn took the stage to be introduced to the crowd. The crowd booed them both. Here are just some of the posts ("tweets") on Twitter from people at the rally downtown. They are in reverse chronological order, most recent at the top, and were copied at 12:31 P.M.

• RT @chrisnelsen Mayor daley getting booed made my day... @MayorDaley
• RT @DS3M LOL Mayor Daley just got Booed SOOOO Hard at Blackhawks Rally... then he screwed up Coach Q's name... whatta fuggin clown
• RT @queeneulalia lol @ daley getting booed after his introduction. #blackhawks 
• RT @mamazilla Chicago just loudly booed Daley... 
• RT @AMRhone Just Booed Mayor Daley at the Blackhawks parade, thats wat he gets for raising taxes 
• RT @edelweiss_ Daley and Quinn got booed...hahahahhaha 
• RT @limac333 Gotta love both Daley and Quinn getting booed. 
• RT @cyan_icewolf cyan_icewolf LOL! Mayor Daley, Gov. Quinn both get booed ...at the Blackhawks Parade. So perfect heh! 
• RT @kylecarroll5 Governor Pat Quinn gets booed big time at #blackhawks rally 
• LMAO: RT @LauraKoni Gov Quinn now getting booed at #Blackhawks rally Blago better not walk over from trial lunch break 
• RT @PeachyShells They booed governor Quinn and daley lol 
• RT @LexisSmith The crowd booed Daley & Quinn #Blackhawks parade
• RT @franknapolitano Governor, Pat Quinn, just got booed when he took the stage at the BalckHawks parade. @Bill_Brady 
• RT @weedgirl24 weedgirl24 Fans at #blackhawks rally booed illinois Governor #Quinn. Ha! Ha! @Brady4Illinois 
• RT @FrankieVtotheD Dang they just booed Gov Quinn lmao
• RT @KatrinkaYobotz #Illinois Gov Quinn just booed as he took stage at Blackhawks rally
• RT @johnfritchey Ouch. Gov. Quinn roundly booed as he was introduced [at Blackhawks celebration parade today] 
• RT @gordyhulten Nobody likes Gov. Quinn anymore... 
• RT @johnfritchey: Ouch. Gov. Quinn roundly booed as he was introduced. 
• RT @LadyNPumps RT @Jeremiahfunny Now they booing Pat Quinn! Ahahahahaha where is Blago!? 
• Hee hee hee! RT @Marathonpundit Gov Pat Quinn booed at Blackhawk rally--just blocks from the Blago trial. 

Mayor Daley Would Have Let Them Die (Updated)

The City of Chicago's handgun ban might have caused the deaths of an elderly couple early this morning. Had the couple obeyed the city's ban, they would have been defenseless against an armed intruder and quite possibly killed. UPDATE: WLS 890 AM reports that the 80-yr old man used a handgun. (8:00 p.m., 5/26)

"An 80-year-old man shot and killed an armed man who broke into his East Garfield Park home this morning, police said," reports Chicago Breaking News today. "The intruder, who police believe had a gun, broke into the family two-flat in the 600 block of North Sawyer Avenue about 5:20 a.m., said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli."  

UPDATE: WLS 890 AM reports that the 80-yr old man used a handgun. (8:00 p.m., 5/26)

It is curious that none of the reports about this defensive shooting tell us what type of gun the 80-year old man used to defend himself and his wife. Was it a rifle? Many types of rifles are actually legal in Chicago, which is curious considering the ban on handguns. Was it a handgun? If so, that would be embarassing to Mayor Daley and supporters of the handgun ban. Did City Hall order the Chicago Police Department to suppress this information for political purposes?  

UPDATE: WLS 890 AM reports that the 80-yr old man used a handgun. (8:00 p.m., 5/26)  

What if the elderly man had not had a gun with which to protect himself? Would a call to 911 have gotten the police to his home faster than the bullet could reach the intruder? Would he and his wife be dead today?

Chicago's Mayor Daley hates the Second Amendment so much that he maintains Chicago's unconstitutional ban on handguns despite overwhelming evidence that it does not prevent criminals from using them in their illicit endeavors. While Daley's own taxpayer-paid bodyguards carry handguns, we lowly serfs are not allowed to have our own equalizers.

"Chicago’s gun ban ordinance was enacted in 1982 to stem increasing use of firearms in crimes in the city," wrote Maureen Martin at HoumaToday. "From the beginning, the ordinance has been an utter failure in accomplishing that goal."

Martin continued with some stunning statistics. "The number of murders committed with guns has soared in Chicago since the ordinance was enacted, as has the share of all murders committed with guns. In 1983, the first year the Chicago ordinance was in effect, 290 murders (39.78 percent of the total) were committed with handguns. That rose to 513 murders (60.21 percent) committed with handguns in 1990. In 2003, 442 murders (73.54 percent) were committed with handguns, and in 2008, 402 handgun murders were committed (78.67 percent). In the 25 years since Chicago’s handgun ban was enacted, the number of murders committed with handguns dropped below 1983 levels in only four years (1984-87). All of these data are from the Chicago Police Department."

Related:

• Chicago Mayor Snaps at Reporter Who Questions Handgun Ban‎ FoxNews
• Mayor Daley Threatens to Shoot the Messenger—Namely, Me Mick Dumke, Chicago Reader
• Justices debate Chicago handgun ban CNN.com
• We Need More Guns, Not Fewer Chicago News Bench 
• The More Guns the Better, and Here's Proof Chicago News Bench

CPD Supt. Jody Weis, Fun With Numbers

Of course, you're just as dead no matter where you're killed. Chicago's Top Cop, however, thinks there's a difference. Why else would he create statistical categories for "indoor" and "outdoor" killings? The answer, of course, is politics. "This reeks of desperate statistical manipulation," writes Second City Cop. Peter Bella pokes Jody Weis, the buffoon also known as the Chicago Police Superintendent. Despised and resented by many CPD officers, Weis is an overpaid tool of the local Democrat Machine. He's Mayor Daley's lap dog in a crisply press police uniform, but Daley is so pleased with his performance that he is "suggesting" that Weis take a pay cut from his current $310,000 annual salary. Bella is a former police officer himself, so he's no stranger to this topic. He writes: Weis, in his professional capacity as court jester, has determined there will now be two types of murder in Chicago. Insdide murder and outside murder- innies and outies. He must be reading those famed police publications, Sports Illustrated and the Victoria’s Secret catalog. Fun with numbers, right? These classifications will give the perception the murder rate is not as high as it actually is. The city is not as dangerous as it really is. Voila! Eureka! Brilliant! The people will sleep much better now, knowing there is no longer need for rough men to protect them. If you have the sad misfortune to be killed indoors, you can rest assured- and in peace- you are not the victim of a vicious human being. Nope. You were the victim of a statistical anomaly. Read Bella's full post at ChicagoNow... Makes you feel better doesn't it?

Pat Dollard's Headline of the Week

Pat Dollard gets my vote for Headline of The Week, and it's only Tuesday. 

"Toughest Gun Control Laws In The Nation Lead To Historic Violent Crime Wave" is a post that hits the nail square on its head. Even the subhead is great: "Obama’s Chicago So Out Of Control Lawmakers Demand National Guard To Lock It Down."

Dollard notes that "Two Illinois lawmakers say violence has become so rampant in Chicago that the National Guard must be called in to help. Chicago Democratic Reps. John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford made a public plea to Gov. Pat Quinn on Sunday to deploy troops. The request comes amid a recent surge in violent crime, including a night last week that saw seven people killed and 18 wounded, mostly by gunfire."

The spineless Illinois Governor, Pat Quinn, has already said that he will not send in the troops without a request from Mayor Daley. He knows full well, of course, that Daley will make no such request. Apparently, the overrated, overhyped "positive loitering" efforts in Chicago have not been as effective as hoped for.

Chicago is 2,000 police officers short of what it's budgeted for, and what it needs. You gotta wonder just how much Daley, who is accompanied by armed guards everywhere he goes, really hates and despises the people he lords over.

Daley and Weis keep saying that the National Guard is not needed, and that they have better ideas. The extent of Daley's "better ideas" is more gun control. You know, to make it even tougher for the good guys to protect themselves. Weis hasn't had an original idea since... well, you tell me when that was.

While Daley and Obama are busy enabling illegal immigration with their rhetoric and advocacy of santuary cities, the people here in Chicago are being slaughtered in the streets. Dollard, a man who has seen combat first hand, knows that it's often more deadly in Chicago than in most parts of Iraq or Afghanistan. In a moving April 14 editorial in the Austin Weekly News, we are told that "To date, more young people have been shot in Chicago than Soldiers in Iraq-159 students have been shot this school year alone."

If Daley and Weis really cared, they'd put aside political considerations and egos and beg Gov. Quinn to send in the Guard. Daley hasn't got the intelligence or the balls to understand that his unconstitutional gun laws have no effect whatsoever on the bad guys getting and using firearms. Meanwhile, the law abiders are left defenseless and at the mercy of God and a call to 911.

Please remember:  Guns don't kill people, more than 60 years of bad social policy kills people.

RELATED:
National Guard Urged to Quell Chicago Violence  CBS News
Chicago Lawmakers: Call In the National Guard Fox News
Mr. Mayor, you must do something to save our kids‎ Austin Weekly News

Mayor Daley Gets the Tea Party. Why Doesn't Springfield?

by Steve Stevlic

Our original plan for the 2010 Chicago Tax Day Tea Party was to again hold it in Federal Plaza, site of the first Tax Day Tea Party in 2009. Unfortunately, we needed to change those plans when we were notified Federal Plaza would be under construction the week of the Tea Party (insert conspiracy theory here).

Daley Plaza actually turned out to be a great location. We had a massive crowd that would not have fit in Federal Plaza, and even more people who needed to hear our message had a chance to.....because we were right outside their window.

Mayor Daley Agrees with the Tea Party

Thousands of concerned Americans gathered right across the street from Mayor Daley's City Hall office on tax day and he heard us loud and clear. Daley estimated the crowd at the Chicago Tax Day Tea Party at 20,000 people. I nominate Mayor Daley to provide the official crowd estimate for all tea party rallies from now on, particularly in DC. But the numbers that really matter are the trillions of dollars being spent by government at every level: federal, state, county and city.

Mayor Daley proposed a budget this year that cut costs slightly and did not raise taxes. City employees are earning less money in this economy because they are being forced to take furlough days. Daley himself has taken 29 unpaid days off this year, his cabinet has taken 24. Daley criticized Washington and Springfield at his press conference this week. Daley pointed out, "There isn’t one state employee or federal employee taking any time off. You wonder, why not?" Why not indeed.

Daley went on to wonder, "Don’t they realize that this is a national recession? Don’t they realize that people are suffering? There’s where the disgruntled attitude is — that they don’t get it. ... They’re living in the Washington or Springfield bubble.”

Daley is not the only politician that noticed

Forrest Claypool's campaign staffers were in Daley Plaza at the Tea Party collecting signatures for his independent run for Cook County Assessor. A message for Commissioner Claypool: you're running an independent campaign against higher taxes, corruption and politics as usual - so are we. We are open to your message and look forward to hearing what you have to say - hope you do the same.

Sadly, Pat Quinn still does not get it

While a select few Chicago and Cook County pols are hearing the Tea Party Movement message of lower taxes, lower spending and lower deficits, the same can not be said about the unelected Governor of IL, Pat Quinn. He is still proposing a 33% increase in the income tax and tried to impose a tax on iPhones and digital downloads. Even Quinn realized what a horrific idea the iTax was and quickly backed off the very next day. Maybe it's time for the Chicago Tea Party and the other 50 groups in Illinois Tea to pay a visit to our representatives in Springfield. We can not afford a tax increase in this economy. We can not afford the job losses that would occur as a result. The public sector unions were not shy about going to Springfield to demand more money. Is it time for the people to go to Springfield? What do you think? Steve Stevlic is the Chicago Coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, Organizer of the 2010 Chicago Tax Day Tea Party and contributor at Chicago News Bench. Leave a Comment * Conservative T-Shirts * Follow CNB on Twitter * RSS Feed

Chicago Aldermen, SEIU Bullying and Wal-Mart

Chicago, the city that works - sometimes, and in spite of itself. Peter Bella writes about the ongoing nonsense and power plays regarding a proposed Wal-Mart store in Chicago's historic Pullman neighborhood on the south side.

Mayor Richard Daley, to his credit, would like to see Wal-Mart (or any big retailer) build in that impoverished neighborhood. It's what some call a "food desert," with few good places to buy food or, for that matter, much else. That goes hand in hand with a lack of places at which to work. Some Chicago alderman and the unions that pull their strings would happily allow people to continue to struggle with no jobs or adequate shopping opportunities rather than allow a Wal-Mart into the hood. They demand, as Bella notes, a "living wage" of $11.03 per hour. (Has anybody ever offered a reasonable definition of "living wage?")  Even minimum wage is better than no wage at all, but the union bosses and corruptocrats in City Hall would apparently prefer no wages for people in Pullman.

"Earleir this week," writes Bella in his column at Chicago Now, "Alderman Solis, the Zoning Committee Chairman demanded Wal-Mart negotiate with SEIU and other unions over wages and benefits. Solis does not know how things work. How can unions negotiate when there are no employees they represent?"

The answer is actually simple. The union bosses don't give a damn about the employees they claim to represent. If they did, they'd push in favor of Wal-Mart, let some unemployed people start earning something, and then - later - negotiate upwards on their behalf. The bosses, however, live pretty high on the union dues that are ripped out of every member's paycheck. The lower the wage, the lower the dues. Even a union boss understands the law of diminished returns.

John Ruberry at Marathon Pundit notes that "Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) has been trying to bring the retail giant--as well as hundreds of jobs--to the historic Pullman neighborhood. Daley wants an up-and-down vote on proposed South Side store" and that currently the unemployment rate in the Chicago metropolitan area is 11.3 percent.

Six years ago, the Chicago City Council actually did approve a Wal-Mart for Chicago's 37th Ward on the city's west side. Alderman Emma Mitts fought hard to get that store for her constituents (it opened in July, 2006).

Of that 2004 vote, Alderman Helen Shiller (46th Ward) said after that "We are dealing with a huge company with a long history of predatory practices," and said that Wal-Mart does not provide its employees with adequate health care. "They count on the city to provide assistance to their workers," she said. "We are creating more loss than gains." (MSNBC...)  Shiller doesn't seem to understand that (a) the city itself has a long history of predatory taxation practices or that (b) many unemployed people are already count on the city for assistance. A pawn of SEIU herself, Shiller either cannot grasp or will not admit that at least some of those who would be employed by Wal-Mart could depend less on the city for assistance if they had an income, however meager. The real predators are the union bosses and the aldermen they support with campaign contributions and political workers.

Wal-Mart contributes to politicians, too, but they need to counter the opposition. Anti-Wal-Mart spinning by its opponents in public office and in the media is often reaches the deep into the depths of idiocy.

An absurd example of this comes from the University of Illinois at Chicago in a January 8, 2010 news release. The headline of the release boggles the mind: "Study: Chicago Walmart Does Not Boost Employment or Retail Sales." This flies in the face of reality. It smacks of the Big Lie so favored by Joseph Goebbels, who said that "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."  What thinking person, however, can actually believe that new retailer with a store over 100,000 square feet and needing many new employees to staff it would not boost employment opportunities?

Yet UIC would have you believe that big lie. That January, 2010 news release claimed that "The opening of a Walmart store in Chicago's Austin neighborhood in 2006 has not increased retail activity or employment opportunities, according to a study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Loyola University Chicago."

Really?  It hasn't increased employment opportunities? For anybody? Has that Wal-Mart remained unstaffed with no employees in the several years it has been open? How has the store functioned without employees? Half an ounce of critical thinking shows the absurdity of the UIC "study." 37th Ward Alderman Emma Mitts disagreed with the UIC study, noted Chicagoist, "saying on WTTW's Chicago Tonight that 'people see what they want to see,' and that she hadn't heard anyone in her community complaining."

The actions and words of the SEIU and their puppets on the City Council indicate that they really don't give a damn about the people they "represent." The propanda work on their behalf, by many in the media, is shameless. The losers who buy into the Wal-Mart hatred are simply pitiful.

RELATED:
Daley wants up-or-down vote on new Wal-Mart Clout Street/Chicago Tribune
Wal-Mart Hate and Deaf Aldermen Chicago News Bench
Video: Ministers rally around Wal-Mart Marathon Pundit
Pastors add pressure for more Walmart stores Chicago Defender
Wal-Mart gets 25,000 applications for Evergreen Park store Chicago Business
Penn and Teller on Wal-Mart Hatred (Video; Language Advisory) YouTube
Wal-Marts in Chicago (Google map a/o April 25, 2010)
Labor Unions: Employment at Wal-Mart Like Slavery BigGovernment.com
Wal-Mart Employment Opportunities HourlyCareers.com
Defeat of Chicago's big-box "living wage" ordinance means more jobs Marathon Pundit

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Earth Day, Mayor Daley and Fake Grass

April 22, 2010 - Chicago laughingly calls itself a "City in a Garden." Mayor Richard M. Daley prides himself on being a green guy, very environmentally sensitive. Don't make me laugh. The next time you pass a public school in Chicago or walk through a park, take a closer look at the "grass" - particularly on athletic fields. It just might be fake.

While Mayor Daley is vocal about planting weeds on the "green" rooftop of City Hall, he's rather quiet about the fact that a lot of natural grass is being ripped up and replaced by artificial turf. That's right, fake grass. It contributes nothing to the environment. It doesn't produce oxygen. It provides no habitat for insects, no feeding ground for birds or other small animals. The Chicago Park District says it will save money because it's cheaper than maintaining real sod.

Today, Mayor Daley played host to Ray LaHood, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transporation. They addressed a crowd in Daley Plaza downtown, surrounded by concrete, steel, glass and asphalt.

LaHood told the crowd, "You are in the greenest city in America with the greenest mayor in America! And we all oughta be happy about that!"  I don't know whether LaHood was serious, just naively mistaken, or really that ignorant of the thousands of cities, towns and villages across America that are far greener than Chicago. 

As Bill Cameron reported on WLS News this afternoon, LaHood's words "sounded good, but Chicago still lags far behind many other big cities on the basic environmental discipline of getting normal household garbage recycled."  

Cameron did not mention the fact that Mayor Daley seems intent on getting ahead of other urban communities in the replacement of natural grass with artificial turf. 

The cost-savings argument made to justify the fake grass is insulting. The city is doing a very anti-green thing by destroying natural grass in the name of cost savings. If a private company tries to save a few dollars by not "going green," however, they chance being ridiculed or even fined. Let the city rip up the environment, however, and it's called "another park improvement."

Furthermore, to carry the Park District's cost-saving argument to its logical end, real trees should be replaced with artificial ones. After all, it costs a lot of money for tree trimming crews to maintain the tens of thousands of trees in parks and along the public way. A single new tree planted by the city can cost well upwards of $200, not including labor costs for sticking it in the ground.

The next time you hear Mayor Daley talk about being green, ask yourself this: How green is it to replace hundreds of acres of natural grass throughout Chicago with what amounts to outdoor carpeting?

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Who Really Killed Sgt. Alan Haymaker?

Update, 2/24/2010: Funeral Details for Sgt. Alan Haymaker

 

Update, 2/25/2010: Man Charged in Burglary That "Killed" Sgt. Alan Haymaker

 

Sgt Alan J. Haymaker | Star 2532

On Monday, Feb. 22, we asked some tough questions about the sad and untimely death of Sergeant Alan Joseph Haymaker, the third generation Chicago police office who died early Monday morning when his squad car slammed to a deadly halt when it hit a tree near the Irving Park exit ramp on Lake Shore Drive. It seems we were not entirely out of line with those questions, and there are even more questions today - and not just by us.  

 

Before we ask who should be arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter, let me clear up something that the rest of the media has repeatedly gotten wrong about this story. Sgt. Haymaker’s car did NOT "spin out" on an "apparently icy exit ramp on Lake Shore Drive” as incorrectly reported by The Chicago Tribune and other news media that have been too lazy to get off their overpaid asses to go look at the scene of death. Chicago News Bench did go, and we took photos that prove beyond doubt that Sgt. Haymaker never entered the exit ramp. 

 

In fact, from all visible indications, Sgt. Haymaker did not even attempt to drive onto the exit ramp. Indeed, it would have made no sense for him to have taken that exit ramp, as we pointed out yesterday, because he was reportedly responding to a burglary scene in the 3100 block of N. Clark Street, whereas the Irving Park exit ramp is at 4100 north. Sgt. Haymaker would more likely have been intending to exit Lake Shore Drive at either Addison or Belmont.  

 

So, Sgt. Haymaker did not “spin out” on the Irving Park exit ramp, because his car simply did not enter that exit ramp. Furthermore, from our first-hand observations and photographs, his car probably did not even spin out on Lake Shore Drive. Rather, the tire tracks of his car indicate that he drove in a straight line from LSD, over the curb, and straight onto the grassy area between the exit ramp and LSD. It seems that his car spun (fish tailed) about 90 degrees in the split second between jumping the curb and hitting the light pole a few feet before the tree that destroyed both him and his squad car. 

 

SO, WHO KILLED SGT. HAYMAKER - AND WHO SHOULD BE CHARGED? There are rumors flying that Mayor Richard Daley gave an order to not put road salt on Lake Shore Drive. Another rumor is that a Streets and Sanitation dispatcher gave an order to not salt LSD. Neither rumor has been substantiated. To play devil’s advocate, a dispatcher be very unlikely to issue such an order unless he/she was confident that it complied with existing city policy, whether that policy was publicly know or not. To do so would certainly raise eyebrows immediately, and probably bring disciplinary action shortly thereafter.  

Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis has his own idea of who killed Sgt. Haymaker, and it’s a weird idea at that. He blames the burglars that Sgt. Haymaker was en route to on N. Clark Street.  

 

WGNTV.com reports that Weis "said officials are in discussion with the Cook County state's attorney's office to see if felony murder charges could be lodged against the burglars responsible for the early morning break in at a cell-phone store in the 3100 block of North Clark Street, where Haymaker was headed.... Under Illinois statutes it appears they could be charged with murder... 'that is something I think that we'll be looking at with the States Attorney's office,' Weis said. 'But I think it's something that we certainly will consider'."  

 

Weis said he believes that under state law the person behind a crime can be charged with murder if responding officers are killed. The burglary is also under investigation because no one has been apprehended. If that’s what state law allows, fine. However, it does not address what actually, physically caused Sgt. Haymaker’s car to jump the curb and hit that tree. There’s the road salt question, of course, but there’s also questions about the condition of the squad car that Sgt. Haymaker was driving.  

 

SALT IN THE WOUND It’s been said that LSD, a major road, was icy at the time of the accident. But, why? The storm that hit on the evening of Sunday, Feb. 21 started dumping snow on Lake Shore Drive at approximately 9:00 p.m. by my own recollection. Sgt. Haymaker hit the tree just past 5:00 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 22, some eight hours later. LSD is no small side street, and should have been cleared of snow and well salted by then. Monday morning rush hour was about to begin, after all. It should be remembered that a decision to not salt LSD put thousands of commuters at risk of a fate similar to that met by Sgt. Haymaker.  

 

Item: The Department of Streets and Sanitation operates the big blue snow plows that also spread road salt. We hear from reliable sources that more than one Streets and San employee stopped to tell investigators at the scene of Sgt. Haymaker’s accident that a dispatcher gave the order to NOT salt Lake Shore Drive on Monday morning. 

 

Item: Second City Cop blog (SCC) notes that one of their commenters, “from a cop on traffic control at the scene,” said that a snowplow driver on the inner drive” waived him/her down “and he stated that they were under orders...NOT to salt Lakeshore Drive! The City Snowplow Driver seemed sincere and pissed off that a needless accident had to happen because of his direct orders.” SCC also noted that an e-mail to them seems to confirm this: “A friend who monitored the radio transmission this morning stated that someone from streets n san broadcasted the following... ‘No More Salt On Lake Shore Drive’! That was before the Sgt Crashed. Can someone pull the tapes for that Sgt's family! I figured your the best source of info relay.” See more comments about this at Second City Cop...  

 

Item: A local blog says that “Mayor Daley gave the order NOT TO SALT Lake Shore Dr. during snow storms - Due to the salt killing the plants in the center planters.... And now we have today's accident that claimed the life of Sgt. Haymaker.... There are many reports that the Streets and Sans guys were given the ordered NOT TO SALT LAKE SHORE DRIVE. Why? Because the salt gets kicked up into the cement planters and kills the plants and damages the soil.” (Source: Advisory for strong language) If orders were given to NOT salt LSD, perhaps Supt. Weis should focus his murder investigation on Streets and Sanitation, as well as on Mayor Daley.  

 

QUESTIONS REMAIN Even if ice was a factor in the accident this morning, why did Sgt. Haymaker steer his car off of Lake Shore Drive, over the curb, and into light post and tree, with NO sign of any spin out prior to leaving the pavement of LSD?  

 

There are now questions being asked as to why the road was so icy. Was it because there was no salt put on the road? Was Chicago Streets and Sanitation instructed to not salt Lake Shore Drive? Why would the City not want this large stretch of road traveled daily by thousands of people salted? 

 

Attorney Jamie G. Goldstein asks, "There are now questions being asked as to why the ramp was so icy. Was it because there was no salt put on the ramp? Was Chicago Streets and Sanitation instructed to not salt Lake Shore Drive? Why would the City not want this large stretch of road traveled daily by thousands of people salted?" We'll forgive her for being misinformed by the media that Sgt. Haymaker was on "the ramp," but her question about salt - or lack thereof - on the road Sgt. Haymaker last traveled is valid.  

 

Another frightening possibility might be found in alleged maintenance negligence. A commenter to one of the blogs cited above wrote that “There are reports on SCC that the pool car that the Sgt was driving was deficient too. Someone posted that the tires appeared to be nearly bald and that the airbag did not deploy.”  

 

For Supt. Weis to blame the death of Sgt. Haymaker on two at-large burglary suspects seems like an attempt to divert attention away from possible negligence by the city itself: Mayor Daley for his anti-road salt position, Streets and Sanitation for allegedly ordering salt truck drivers to not salt LSD, and the Chicago Police Department for possibly assigning poorly maintained vehicles to its officers. Weis might have legal ground to stand on when he says he might bring murder charges against the burglars, if captured, but morally he stands on thin ice by not demanding full investigations into Chicago’s own bureaucratic morass.  

 

FINAL QUESTIONS No disrespect to Sgt. Haymaker is intended by this question, but it needs to be asked: Was his blood checked for alcohol and/or drugs? I do not mean to imply anything by that question, but if anybody else had such an accident we would ask. The public has a right to know that even for a private citizen. We have as much right to know that when it involves a police sergeant.

 

RELATED:  

• Officer Killed on Lake Shore Drive - Too Icy or Not Enough Salt?  
• Mayor Relents, Full Plowing Returns Streets and San Ready, Steady, Plow?  
• Daley is the New Bilandic: More Plow Problems

Scott Lee Cohen's Ex-Wife DEFENDS Him on WTTW

The Democrat Party insiders are pressuring legally-elected Lt. Governor candidate Scott Lee Cohen to remove himself from the ticket he legally shares with Gov. Pat Quinn. They claim he's an embarrassment and not fit to be on the ticket. They have launched a full-blown slur campaign against a guy who has gone through tough times and turned himself around. He has never been convicted of any of the charges they can dig up in his past. To hear the Democrat Party of Illinois, Cohen's ex-wife hates him . Newsflash: Cohen's wife defended him and supported him in this amazing interview on WTTW (video below). It is becoming more clear every day that Cohen is being shunned by The Machine because he's not one of their own. Now they're trying to destroy the character of a man who has had troubles in the past, but he's worked them out. He is divorced, but his ex-wife goes on TV and defends him. He owns a pawn shop, which loans money to people outside of the systems and sells merchandise at low prices, both of which help the downtrodden. To remove Scott Cohen is to slap everyone who voted for him. Even Chicago Mayor Richard Daley - a Democrat - refuses to call for Cohen to step aside. According to Fox Chicago, "Daley called the whole Cohen situation a 'constitutional dilemma,' but said neither he, nor any newspaper, nor anyone in Illinois could ask Cohen to resign just because they 'don't like him anymore.'" I'm not sure why Daley would consider the Cohen Affair to be a constitutional dilemma when there is nothing in the state's charter that prevents Cohen from either running for the office or holding the office. Even so, Daley's point is clear: Cohen should not be bullied off the ticket. The Democrats have more than their share of corrupt and sometimes convicted members. Compared to many of them, Cohen is a Boy Scout. Shame on the Democrat Party of Illinois for attacking a man who has every legal right to remain on the ticket, and shame on the people if they allow them to force him out or buy him off. Cohen should be demanding that Quinn leave the ticket, because it is Quinn who is acting dishonorably in all this. It is ironic, coming from a political party that claims to be so concerned about giving people second chances and preaches compassion and equality. Apparently, those values apply only to dues paying members of the Machine. Leave a Comment * Conservative T-Shirts * Follow CNB on Twitter * RSS Feed

Chicago Boy Shot to Death: How's That Gun Control Working For Ya, Chicago?

Another bloody weekend in Chicago.

Here's a sampling of headlines: 

• Boy dead, 2 hurt in drive-by shooting - ABC7 Chicago
• Man riding in vehicle critically wounded in shooting - Chicago Breaking News 
• 2 arrested in South Side shooting -Chicago Tribune 
• 3 men, 1 woman shot in CHA lot on Near North Side - Chicago Sun-Times 
• Man Shot Outside Green Dolphin Street - NBC Chicago 
• Man Killed In Lincoln Park Shooting - CBS2 Chicago 
• Man charged in girlfriend's shooting - Chicago Tribune 
• Two found shot near each other on South Side - Chicago Breaking News 
• Man charged in shooting that led to police chase - Southtown Star 
• Another Uptown Shooting Not Thwarted by Positive Loitering - Chicago News Bench   

There were a number of other shootings over the past weekend in Chicago. Business as usual in this city of tight gun laws. Chicago anti-handgun laws are ineffective and not worth the paper they're printed on.

Perhaps that's an overstatement: Law abiding citizens do not own handguns in Chicago, so in that regard it's a smashing success. However, the bad guys still have plenty of guns, and they're not shy about using them. If Mayor Daley and his City Clowncil want to justify the Chicago handgun ban by saying it's intended to prevent gun-related homicides, then you'd have to say they are deluded.

The criminals have guns and use them to attack innocent people and, of course, each other. They laugh at the Chicago gun laws. Law abiding citizens are denied their right to own guns for self defense, thereby making it easier for the bad guys to attack them. The murder rate in Chicago is high, very high, and the overwhelming majority are committed by criminals with guns.

Don't blame the guns, though; guns are inanimate objects, as incapable of committing murder as any baseball bat, kitchen knife or screwdriver. A gun is a tool, and like a screwdriver or a hammer, it can be used properly or improperly. The proper use of a handgun is self-defense, but Chicagoans are denied this right.

How many attacks in Chicago would be thwarted before they leave victims dead or maimed if the victims had been able to fight back with a gun?

We cannot know the answer to that, of course, but it is reasonable to say that with a fighting chance some of those victims would have come out on top of the situation, instead of under a gravestone.

There is good reason why security guards are allowed to carry guns. Mayor Daley's bodyguards carry guns, and they are right to do so. The ordinary citizens of Chicago should have the same right to defend themselves with firepower that is allowed the merchants and the mayor. 

Mayor Daley's Grave

“I don’t know why you already put me in the grave.” ~ Mayor Daley, Chicago Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley, the arrogant ass who heads Chicago's government, made a little joke yesterday. Dan Mihalopoulos told us about it in his Clout Street column yesterday: At his first City Hall news conference since Chicago failed to land the 2016 Summer Games, Daley was asked if he expected to pay any political price for the loss."None whatsoever" Daley replied. Like I said: Arrogant. Ass. After participating in one of the lamest presentations ever given to an International Olympics Committee (IOC), which finally put a city whose vast majority opposed hosting the 2016 Olympics at ease, and after spending countless (they're still counting) dollars on the effort, Daley was glib. He's always glib. He's a jolly, glib, arrogant ass. “I don’t know why you already put me in the grave,” he said. “I know you’re all planning on it, don’t worry.” Ha ha ha. With approximately $500 Million in TIF money sitting idle somewhere now that it won't be used to displace thousands of poor people and enrich his political allies in the name of making Michelle Obama's father's ghost happy, Mayor Daley thinks nobody will hold the whole boondoggle against him. Nah, why should we? With the constant swirl of corruption around him, Daley thinks that most voters in Chicago are too stupid to unelect him. Is Daley right? He might be, but I think this time that he's wrong. Many of remember his unauthorized midnight destruction of Meigs Field, a perfectly functional - and profitable - airport. He's the guy who says you can't own a handgun to protect yourself even as he is escorted by his cadre of armed bodyguards. Daley is the man who has presided over the dismal failure known as the Chicago Public Schools and thinks that throwing more money at the unions and having a mystical pow-wow with Arne Duncan, his failed former CPS chief, and the U.S. Atty. General Eric Holder, will magically end the murders of school kids. Daley's the guy who has presided over higher and higher taxes, and tougher and tougher restrictions on businesses. He's the jerk who told us all that Millennium Park wouldn't cost a dime of taxpayers' money, and he's the arrogant ass who wanted us all to believe up to the bitter end that the 2016 Olympics wouldn't cost us anything either. Daley is the kingpin of the local Democrat Machine, an organization that the most efficient Mafioso could only imagine in the wettest of dreams. Okay, that's my rant. Let's turn to a rant by "Garrison," who left this comment on Gaper's Block on October 2: I'm so tired of my fellow Chicagoans making excuses for a poorly run and corrupt city. What has Daley done for the City exactly? And after you say beautiful parks and flowers, then what? Are you going to perpetuate the myth that he made the City "livable" again, created an Urban Renaissance and people moved back to the City? That happened in spite of Daley. That has been a cultural and social phenomenon that has happened all around the country. He wasn't Mayor of Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Portland, Philadelphia, NYC, Boston and dozen other places that this has happened. He gets zero credit for it. I'm sure some here are just like many of my friends, more than willing to forgive Daley's sins because "turning him out of office would make Chicago look bad". Oh the irony... I'll make one more comment. The majority of voters in Chicago have repeatedly shown themselves to be as dumb as sheep. Look at the quality of our City Council, voted in by those sheep. Daley is repeatedly re-elected even while the voters complain about his corruption and the declining quality of life in Chicago, the violence, the crime, the huge tracks of poverty, the rising taxes. And we should not forget that the voters in Chicago also vote in Cook County elections. Todd Stroger, current President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, is living testimony to the severe stupidity of the majority of those voters. With voters like those, perhaps Daley the Ass knows he can afford to be arrogant. Conservative Caps, Shirt and more! Leave a Comment - Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Visit us on Twitter!

Olympics, the Chicago Way

Michelle Malkin (video below) blows discussed the dirty Olympics dealings in Chicago by and for Obama and his posse with Sean Hannity last night. (Hat tip to Bluegrass Pundit.)  Also see "Olympic-sized boondoggle: What Valerie Jarrett and Michelle Obama are up to," a good summary of the chummy relationship between Chicago Mayor Daley’s former lawyer Valerie Jarrett (now the White House Senior Advisor and Michelle Obama's former employer). As noted by Malkin: "Jarrett’s slum lord record in Chicago is highly relevant to her current and ongoing pursuit of Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid — which will cost taxpayers nearly $5 billion and bring an untold windfall to developers and contractors." Can't you just imagine Mayor Daley saying "Jarrett? Jarrett? I don't know anybody named Jarrett, and even if I did, am I supposed to know everything about their slumlord activities? Ridiculous!"  Also see: Obama Advisor Valerie Jarrett Linked to Real Estate Scandals and The Marxist Web of Chicago: Marilyn Katz the Enabler of Valerie Jarrett



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MSM Bias and Mayor Daley's Lousy Approval Rating

...but will the MainStream Media and the Democrats mock Chicago's Mayor Daley for HIS all-time low approval rating of 35 percent? Don't hold your breath. This post is more about widespread liberal media bias than it is about Mayor Daley's horrible approval ratings. The hypocrisy is stunning, as demonstrated by the Chicago Tribune in a Sept. 13 article by Dan Mihalopoulos: For the first time since he became mayor two decades ago, Daley's critics outnumber his fans, a Tribune/WGN poll found. The mayor's approval rating is at an all-time low of 35 percent in Tribune polls, according to the new survey. Mihalopoulos reveals a certain bias with his fourth paragraph (emphasis added): None of this is to suggest that Daley is losing his dominance of the City Council or his luster with the city's business elite. There is no serious challenger on the horizon if Daley, who regularly wins re-election by landslide, chooses to run for a seventh term in 2011. Even more than his legendary father, the 67-year-old Daley is the only game in town. Why does Mihalopoulos feel a need to apologize for his report of Daley's miserable approval rating of 35 percent? From mid-2006 to early 2008, President Bush hovered at or near a 35 percent approval rating. When The Chicago Tribune - or any of the other MSM - reported Bush's low ratings, did any of them quickly qualify those reports with phrases such as "None of this is to suggest that Bush is losing his dominance of the US Congress?" They did not, and yet that was essentially the case. Even after losing the Congress to the Pelosi Gang in 2006, Bush continued to have his way with the Iraq War and other issues. Although not quite the rubber stamp that is the Chicago City Council, the US Congress was more compliant than most average Democrat voters had hoped it would be after they won it two years into Bush's second term. When the MSM reported on Bush's low approval ratings, did they feel it necessary to also note that Bush won "re-election by [a] landslide?" They did not, of course, even though Bush handily defeated the John "Frenchy" Kerry and John "The Adulterer" Edwards in 2004. The MainStream Media have yet to catch up to the ACORN-Prostitution sting of last week. The MSM virtually buried the story of Obama being forced to dismiss Van Jones. Yesterday's March on Washington, a gargantuan Tea Party, is estimated by the US Parks Service and the D.C. police at over 1.5 Million people, yet most of the MSM has either ignored it or downplayed it as "tens of thousands." MSNBC admitted to "hundreds of thousands" of people, but oddly said that police estimated "tens of thousands." MSNBC, one of the MSM, just couldn't bring itself to honestly relate the much larger, actual, official estimates. The MSM, which we on the Right have accused of bias for decades, has bent over backwards in the past weeks to prove just how correct we have been. They've done it unintentionally, of course, just as a drunk who fails a breathalyzer test unintentionally proves himself guilty of having a few too many drinks. They cannot help it. It is they way they behave. Hold on, here's another metaphor: Like a duck, if it quacks like one and walks like one, it is one. The MSM has been quacking very loudly of late. RELATED: Up to two million march to US Capitol to protest against Obama's spending in ‘tea-party’ demonstration - Daily Mail (UK) ABC Denies It Ever Said Yesterday's Protest Rally Had 1 Million People Two Million Man March Size Matters; So Do Lies The 9/12 March on Washington (Wizbang) Media Bias Is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist / UCLA Newsroom Media Bias Of The Day Black & Right Your Friendly Media Bias Reminder - Mark Hemingway PROOF: SADDAM HAD URANIUM AFP: Iraqi uranium transferred to Canada Cool Hats & Shirts for Cool Conservatives Leave a Comment... Chicago News Bench RSS Feed We're on Twitter...