Blog

  • Lewis and Clark’s Air Rifle

    An 8 minute history lesson about the power of an air rifle.

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pqFyKh-rUI]

  • More Money 4 Medical Malpractice Lawyers in IL

    Medical malpractice lawyers are poised to make more money after Gov. Pat Quinn quietly signed a law allowing them to collect higher fees.

    Doctors groups criticize the change, arguing that it will result in less money for injured patients who need it for costly health care and therapy. They also contend the measure was quickly pushed through the General Assembly in the waning days of a lame-duck session by ruling Democrats friendly to trial lawyers.  …

    The bill surfaced in the Senate on Jan. 2, tacked onto a measure that originally dealt with firearm ranges. A day later it passed the Senate mostly on Democratic votes. Over in the House, powerful Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan sponsored the bill. A few days later it went to the governor on a 67-46 vote, again with mostly Democratic support. Quinn signed the measure into law Jan. 18, disclosing his move on a Friday afternoon, when politicians often choose to bury controversial news.The law eliminates the sliding scale that spelled out how much attorneys could charge for bringing medical malpractice cases. Previously, attorneys could collect one-third of an award up to $150,000, 25 percent for awards ranging from $150,000 to $1 million and 20 percent for awards of more than $1 million. Attorneys also could petition the court for even higher fees, a practice the new law eliminated.

    The new system will see attorneys collecting a flat one-third rate on all awards. The Medical Society contends that means a patient who was awarded $1 million would now pay $333,333 in attorney’s fees as opposed to $262,500 under the old standards — the first $150,000 of the award at the one-third rate and the rest at the 25 percent rate.

    via Quincy Journal.

    The Machine at it again.

    If this was such a great law, so helpful to the general public, then why passed in the dead of night and signed on a Friday afternoon?

    Just more corruption from Michael Madigan and his trial lawyer buddies.

  • Bulletproof Whiteboards?

    In December, George and his young son were watching the horrific details of the Sandy Hook Elementary School murders on television and when he saw the fear in his son’s eyes, his engineering brain kicked in. He said to his son, “We can fix this. We have to do something.”

    via TheBlaze.com.

    Very cool concept.

    These are the kinds of ideas that I like.  They ‘harden’ the target.  We need to make schools safe for kids.  We did it against fire; now it’s time to do it against the ‘active shooter’.

    I quoted from this article before, but not this segment:

    “How many kids have been killed by school fire in all of North America in the past 50 years? Kids killed… school fire… North America… 50 years…  How many?  Zero. That’s right.  Not one single kid has been killed by school fire anywhere in North America in the past half a century.  Now, how many kids have been killed by school violence?”  …

    “In 1999,” Grossman said, “school violence claimed what at the time was an all time record number of kids’ lives. In that year there were 35 dead and a quarter of a million serious injuries due to violence in the school. How many killed by fire that year? Zero. But we hear people say, ‘That’s the year Columbine happened, that’s an anomaly.’ Well, in 2004 we had a new all time record — 48 dead in the schools from violence. How many killed by fire that year? Zero. Let’s assign some grades. Put your teacher hat on and give out some grades. What kind of grade do you give the firefighter for keeping kids safe? An ‘A,’ right? Reluctantly, reluctantly, the cops give the firefighters an ‘A,’ right? Danged firefighters, they sleep ‘till they’re hungry and eat ‘till they’re tired. What grade do we get for keeping the kids safe from violence? Come on, what’s our grade? Needs improvement, right?”
    “Why can’t we be like little Johnny Firefighter?” Grossman asked as he prowled the stage. “He’s our A+ student!”

    He paused, briefly, and answered with a voice that blew through the hall like thunder, “Denial, denial, denial!”

    Grossman commanded, “Look up at the ceiling! See all those sprinklers up there? They’re hard to spot — they’re painted black — but they’re there. While you’re looking, look at the material the ceiling is made of. You know that that stuff was selected because it’s fire-retardant. Hooah? Now look over there above the door — you see that fire exit sign? That’s not just any fire exit sign — that’s a ‘battery-backup-when-the-world-ends-it-will-still-be-lit’ fire exit sign. Hooah?”

    Walking from the stage toward a nearby fire exit and exterior wall, Grossman slammed the palm of his hand against the wall and exclaimed, “Look at these wall boards! They were chosen because they’re what?! Fireproof or fire retardant, hooah? There is not one stinking thing in this room that will burn!”

    Pointing around the room as he spoke, Grossman continued, “But you’ve still got those fire sprinklers, those fire exit signs, fire hydrants outside, and fire trucks nearby! Are these fire guys crazy? Are these fire guys paranoid? No! This fire guy is our A+ student! Because this fire guy has redundant, overlapping layers of protection, not a single kid has been killed by school fire in the last 50 years!

    “But you try to prepare for violence — the thing much more likely to kill our kids in schools, the thing hundreds of times  more likely to kill our kids in schools — and people think you’re paranoid. They think you’re crazy. …They’re in denial.”

    via Police One.

    We need to address this problem with a multi-layered solution.

    Our school must be made safe.

  • Admist the Noise on Gun Crime Stats

    This was released while I was on hiatus.
    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooa98FHuaU0]

  • Felons with Guns Go Free

    Bail was set at $150,000 today on weapons-related charges for a Brighton Park man already on parole in an attempted murder case after beat officers saw him firing a gun near his home this week.

    Edgar Jasso, 29, faces charges of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and reckless discharge of a firearm, and also has been charged with violating his parole for a 2005 attempted murder case, according to police and court records.

    via chicagotribune.com.

    This story is what I’ve been talking about for years!  Grrr….

    Turns out a LOT of Illinois residents don’t know how gun laws work in the State of Illinois.  First off, if you want to touch a bullet or a firearm in Illinois you must first acquire a FOID — Firearm Owners I.D. — card.

    To get your FOID you must apply to the Illinois State Police who takes your application, conducts a background check to make sure you’re not a felon, and that you’ve never been arrested for a weapons charge or convicted of any domestic violence, and then they send you your FOID.

    In Illinois possession of a single bullet without a FOID is a felony.

    In Illinois you cannot buy any firearm or ammunition without presenting a valid FOID card.  Neighboring states are aware of Illinois’ laws; so when you buy ammo in either Indiana or Wisconsin and they ask for your drivers license, when they see you’re from Illinois they always ask to see your FOID card.

    Additionally, when you go to purchase a firearm you must show your FOID and then hold-out for the waiting period (3 days for handguns, 1 day for everything else) and the FFL that sells you the firearm must perform an instant background check w/ the BATF/FBI.

    This idea that people are buying guns in Illinois w/out a background check is absurd.

    As an aside, I’ve already covered that it’s illegal to convict a felony for NOT getting a FOID card prior to acquiring a firearm.  Yes, really.  Check out the link.  It’s self incrimination to apply for a FOID when you know you can’t have one.

    This is why gun registries will never work.  Criminals will never register their guns.  And honest folks will immediately become criminals by not registering their guns.  … Well that and history shows that gun registries have never solved a single crime.

    But I digress…

    18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) is the federal firearms law that states that felons are barred from possession of any firearm.  It’s a mandatory sentence of not less than a year.  But get this.  If the person has 3 or more felony convictions then the minimum sentence is 15 years.

    Why is State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez not sending these goons to the Feds?  They the federal government house, feed, try, sentence, and punish these guys.  Would save the state millions and get these career criminals off the streets.   It’s a win-win.

    UPDATED:  Corrected some bad grammar and added two paragraphs.

  • Most Shooters In Chicago Never Face Charges

    Last year, gunmen who shot and wounded someone got away without criminal charges 94 percent of the time, according to a DNAinfo.com Chicago analysis of police data.

    That’s even worse than 2011, when 91.5 percent of shooters escaped charges, according to the data.

    Chicago’s top cop said the “no-snitch” code of silence on the street is the biggest contributor in his department’s struggle to charge shooters.

    via DNAinfo.com Chicago.

    This is incredible!!

    Garry McCarthy — Chicago’s “Top Cop” — wants to blame the people who live in constant fear in gang controlled neighborhoods for not coming forward and turning-in, and testifying against the gang members that run the place.  Asshat!!

    Then you get our worthless State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez who won’t even speak for herself and instead walks out the “Chief of Staff” who says ‘It’s not our fault either.’

    We have over 400 dead (mostly black) school children every year in this town and our leaders are playing pass-the-buck.  It’s embarrassing but these clowns are too dumb to even realize they should be ashamed of themselves.

  • Milwaukee Sheriff’s Says Arm Yourself

    Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. set off alarm bells Friday with a radio spot some view as a call for citizens to arm themselves.

    In the radio ad, Clarke tells residents personal safety isn’t a spectator sport anymore, and that “I need you in the game.”

    “With officers laid off and furloughed, simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option,” Clarke intones.

    “You could beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back.”

    Clarke urges listeners to take a firearm safety course and handle a firearm “so you can defend yourself until we get there.”

    “You have a duty to protect yourself and your family. We’re partners now. Can I count on you?”

    via Milwaukee Journal Online.

    Sound advice from a serious man.

    Why is it in Chicago all we hear from McCarty and Rahm is that you cannot protect yourself?

    When seconds count the police are just minutes away.

     

  • Credit Ratings for States

    So I just posted the Illinois is now worse that California (those of us here could have told you that two years ago.)  But I’ll bet all of you have been wondering, “Well what states have good credit ratings?”  Yes, yes.  I was wondering too.  See this nice chart I found somewhere and blatantly stole for you.

    StatesCreditRating

  • Illinois Credit — Worst in the Nation

    Illinois fell to the bottom of all 50 states in the rankings of a major credit ratings agency Friday following the failure of Gov. Pat Quinn and lawmakers to fix the state’s hemorrhaging pension system during this month’s lame-duck session.

    Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service downgraded Illinois in what is the latest fallout over the $96.8 billion debt to five state pension systems. The New York rating firm’s ranking signaled taxpayers may pay tens of millions of dollars more in interest when the state borrows money for roads and other projects.

    “It’s absolutely bad news for taxpayers,” said Dan Rutherford, the Republican state treasurer.

    Illinois received its bottom-of-the-pack ranking when it fell from an “A” rating to “A-minus.”

    via Chicago Tribune.

    Well there you have it.  The Machine, the Illinois combine has driven us straight into the gutter.  The cost of the billions and billions of debt is going up and up.  The taxpayers are stuck with the bill.

    It’s old news but I’d like to review this for the record.  I have only three (3) Republicans that represent me.  Every single other elected official that represents me is a Democrat.

    Alderman Bob Fioretti – D
    Mayor Rahm Emanuel – D
    Chicago City Clerk – D
    Cook County Clerk of Courts – D
    Cook County Treasurer – D
    Cook County Assessor – D
    Cook County Recorder of Deeds – D
    Cook County States Attorney (DA) – D
    Cook County Board Member – D
    Cook County Board President – D
    IL House Seat, Derrick Smith (Current under indictment) – D
    IL Senate Seat, Patricia Van Pelt – D
    IL Governor, Pat Quinn – D
    IL Lt. Governor, Sheila Simon – D
    IL Attorney General, Lisa (I won’t investigate my father) Madigan – D
    IL Comptroller, Judy Baar Topinka – R
    IL Treasurer, Dan Rutherford – R
    IL Sec. of State, Jesse White – D
    US House, Danny Davis – D
    US Senate, Mark Kirk – R
    US Senate, Dick Durbin – D
    US President, Barack Obama – D

    What is that?  3 of 22?  If you just take the State folks it’s 2 of 17.  2 of 17.  That’s 11.76% of my elected persons are not Democrats.

    So let me ask you, if I was looking to blame someone for the mess that we’re in where would be a good place to start?