From rrstar.com:
ROCKFORD — Sentencing for a Rockford man who police believe is involved in the death of his attorney has been postponed once again at the request of the man’s new attorney.
Richard E. Wanke Jr., 46, was set to be sentenced on an unrelated 2007 burglary conviction today. But on Friday, Wanke’s new attorney, Glenn Jazwiec, asked the court for more time to prepare for the hearing.
A new sentencing date of May 23 was set.
From Roger Friedman:
But how to explain the newly available actual finances of this corrupt, dying establishment created by Rolling Stone’s Jann Wenner?
According to the 2006-2007 federal tax filing for the Foundation just published at guidestar.org, expenses are higher than ever while charity remains almost nil. Consider that in 2006-2007, the Foundation — which claims assets of over $14 million — made just four charitable donations.
They were:
A mere $475 — the cost of a lunch at say Harry Cipriani — was sent to the T.J. Martell Foundation, the music business’s indisputable main medical charity and a key player in worldwide cancer research.
An equally astounding $500 to City of Hope, the important Duarte, Calif., cancer research center and hospital: $500. Yes, just $500.
A third donation, of $167,000, went to the Rock Hall Museum in Cleveland. This was not for the museum itself, which the Foundation doesn’t support. It was to pay for staff to maintain the Foundation’s archives, which are housed there.
The fourth donation was $25,000 to New York’s Fund for Public Schools. You might wonder what the motivation was there, since the preservation of rock 'n' roll probably isn’t on this group’s mandate.
But the $25,000 is well spent. This is where Wenner receives perhaps a twofer: socialite Agnes Gund, head of the Museum of Modern Art, is on the board. Her family’s foundation secured the original mortgage for the Cleveland Museum. Wenner also gets to play with big time New York socialites and moguls like board members Caroline Kennedy, Mort Zuckerman and Lenny Riggio (Barnes & Noble).
Jann Wenner is another supporter of Barack Obama who is better at talking the talk than walking the talk.
In Cold Blog is a (the?) great true crime blog on the internet. To get you hooked on it like I am, here's an extended excerpt from Dennis N. Griffin:
In the 1970s and through the mid-1980s, the Chicago Outfit was the dominant organized crime family in Las Vegas, with business interests in several casinos. During those years the Outfit and its colleagues in Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Cleveland were using Sin City as a cash cow. Commonly referred to as the “skim,” unreported revenue from certain casinos was making its way out of Vegas by the bag full and ending up in the coffers of the crime bosses in those four locations.
The skim involved large amounts of money. The operation had to be properly set up and well managed to ensure a smooth cash flow. To accomplish that goal, the gangsters brought in a front man with no criminal record to purchase several casinos. Allen R. Glick, doing business as the Argent Corporation (Allen R. Glick Enterprises) purchased the Stardust, Fremont, Hacienda, and Marina. They next installed Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal as their inside man, and the real boss of the casino operations. Rosenthal was a Chicago native and considered to be a genius when it came to oddsmaking and sports betting. Under Lefty’s supervision the casino count rooms were accessible to mob couriers.
But even with the competent Rosenthal in charge, there remained room for problems. What if an outsider tried to muscle in on the operation? Or just as bad, suppose one of their own decided to skim the skim? To guard against such possibilities the Chicago bosses decided to send someone to Vegas to give Rosenthal a hand should trouble arise. The successful applicant had to be a person with the kind of reputation that would deter interlopers from horning in, and make internal theft too risky to try. But the mob’s outside man had to be capable of action as well as threats. In other words, he had to be a man who would do whatever it took to protect the Outfit’s interests. So, in 1971, 33-year-old Tony Spilotro, considered by many to be the “ultimate enforcer,” was sent to the burgeoning gambling and entertainment oasis in the desert. Spilotro, sometimes called “tough Tony,” or “the Ant,” was a made man of the Outfit and a childhood friend of Rosenthal’s. He was known as a man who could be counted on to get the job done.
Being an ambitious sort, Tony quickly recognized that there were other criminal opportunities in his new hometown besides skimming from the casinos. Street crimes ranging from loan sharking to burglary, robbery, arson, and fencing stolen property were all in play. It wasn’t very long before Tony had his hands into every one of these areas. As the scope of his criminal endeavors grew, Tony brought in other heavies from Chicago to fill out his gang. The five-foot-six-inch gangster was soon being called the “King of the Strip.”
Federal and local law enforcement recognized the need to rid the casinos of the hidden ownership and control of the mob, and shut down Spilotro’s street rackets. They declared war on organized crime and the fight was on. The struggle between the law and the criminals ebbed and flowed, with victories and setbacks for each. On the mob side, Tony Spilotro had a strong advocate in the form of criminal defense attorney and future Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman. During nearly 15 years of investigations and indictments, Tony was never convicted of any serious charges.
What the lawmen needed to break the standoff was a decisive event that went in their favor, something that would drive a wedge between the gangsters and lead to an informant or a cooperating witness. That much-needed break occurred on July 4, 1981, when Spilotro’s crew of burglars known as the Hole in the Wall Gang went after a million dollar score. Their target that night was a business called Bertha’s Gifts & Home Furnishings on East Sahara. ...
Excerpts from crime writer Ron Franscell:
HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- A shroud of low, ashen mist swathes Peckerwood Hill on a corpse-cold day in Texas.
No matter. Rev. Carroll Pickett knows the spot he seeks. The ground is spongy with night rain, sunken in some places where cheap pine-box coffins have rotted and collapsed, so he walks respectfully among the dead. A plastic grocery sack flutters in the highest branches of a yellow pine, a ghost guard keeping watch over nearly 3,000 dead, indigent criminals Texas has buried here for the past 160 years.
The history of the American death penalty is written across the handmade concrete headstones on Peckerwood Hill, Texas’ biggest and oldest prison cemetery. It is as much an artifact of capital punishment as “Old Sparky,” the Texas electric chair, now a museum piece.
More condemned men - 180 - are buried here than 29 other states have executed in their entire history. Most share the ignominy of a nameless tombstone marked only with their inmate number, a death date and a simple “X” … executed. ...
The dead on Peckerwood Hill are past caring. This place smells and feels different from other graveyards. It’s dark and sour, as if bad men decay into bad earth. Not all were executed, but all were criminals doing time. The memories here aren’t happy, and few mourners leave flowers, much less celebrate wasted lives. And Peckerwood Hill is little more than a 22-acre potter’s field, since these dead prisoners had no money nor family willing to claim their corpses.
From that one-of-a-kind chronicle of true crime stories, In Cold Blog:
Next time somebody jokes that Texas has an express lane on Death Row, you'll know better. It took a Dallas jury only 15 minutes to convict Ronald Chambers of murder in 1976 after he robbed and shot two college students. He was sentenced to die.
But more than 31 years and three trials later, he hasn't died. Chambers, now 52, is Texas' longest-serving Death Row prisoner, and he's been there 3 times longer than the U.S. average of 10-ish years between sentencing and execution. Late last month, just before he was to be executed, the U.S. Supreme Court granted him a new reprieve as it considers a case similar to his. One more delay.
In Texas, 15 of the 391 condemned inmates have been on Death Row more than 25 years ... so there goes the "express lane" theory. Right now, the longest-serving death row inmate in the United States is Gary Alvord, a Florida killer sentenced to death in 1974.
Any blog devoted to Wisconsin needs to have at least one post devoted to Ed Gein, the real-life inspiration for Psycho and Silence of the Lambs, and Wisconsinology does not disappoint. An excerpt:
Gein was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His alcoholic father, George, might as well have been invisible. His mother, Wisconsin native Augusta Crafter was a "fanatical lutheran". (Remember that word combination, you'll run into it again and again on these pages. Our fair State has had more than it's share of fanatical lutherans.) In 1914, she moved George and sons Ed and Henry to a remote farm outside of Plainfield, Wisconsin. The boys were not allowed to make friends and contact with any member of the opposite sex was prohibited. Every night Augusta read aloud from the bible. Only the good parts -the stuff about vengeance, torture, incest,genocide, infanticide, fratricide, whores, believe in me or suffer for eternity, etc, etc, etc. Ed's Father died in 1940. In 1944, Henry died. Ed might have killed him. Augusta passed away a year later. Ed was now alone. Inside his mind, all hell broke loose.
Yeah, the term "fanatical Lutheran" is a new one for me too.
From the Rockford Register-Star:
Rosemary “Sue” Didier, mother of a teen murdered in 1975 and wife of a former alderman, has died. Didier, 83, died early Wednesday at Provena St. Anne Center, where she was recuperating from gastrointestinal surgery.
Sue, a mother of six and grandmother of eight, has petitioned for decades to keep the convicted killer of her 15-year-old son, Joey, behind bars. Joey vanished on March 4, 1975, after delivering newspapers to only three customers on his route. His body was found 11 days later in a cabin in Jo Daviess County, where he had been raped and strangled to death.
“It was terrible for the community. I was just about Joey’s age when it happened, so I can remember the impact it had on kids my age,” former Rockford Mayor Doug Scott said. He helped the Didier family deliver petitions during his time in the House of Representatives. “For quite a period of time, (Rockford) was in a state of fear.”
Robert Lower, then 36, was convicted and sentenced to 100 to 150 years in prison. He had previously served seven for molesting an 11-year-old boy from Freeport.
Letters notifying the family of Lower’s parole hearings became an unfortunate holiday tradition. Her daughter, Diane Didier-Adolphson, 55, said she always expected the notice between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Lower became eligible for parole in 1984 and has been turned down 14 times. Before every hearing, the family would circulate petitions opposing his release.
Sue led the petition drive since her husband, former Rockford alderman and florist George Didier, died in 1999. Family members say the petition drive won’t end with her death. Lower, now 69, is scheduled to have another parole hearing at the Big Muddy Correctional Center at 9 a.m. on Jan. 22, 2008.
Dennis McDougal on Jack Nicholson:
This all came to mind in part because I’m currently on the promotion trail for my new book, Five Easy Decades: How Jack Nicholson Became the Biggest Movie Star in Modern Times (John Wiley & Sons). While the Joker’s crimes over the years can usually be described as venal, it is worthwhile noting that many of them would have landed mere mortals like you and me in jail, at least until we made bail. His most famous rampage 15 years back, when he wailed on the windshield of a Mercedes with a golf club, would have at the very least resulted in a booking and arrest for assault with a deadly weapon. If you don’t believe me, try doing it yourself. Most folk simply can’t beat the crap out of a guy’s car with a five iron while the driver’s sitting behind the wheel. Police frown on this. Prosecutors rub their hands with glee. Judges go for incarceration, even if it’s a first time offense because such wanton public displays of temper are broadly viewed as symptomatic of deeper and potentially lethal behavior. Left untreated and unpunished, violence tends to escalate.
But that, of course, isn’t what happened with Jack. After the proper out-of-court settlement paid for the victim’s silence, all charges were dismissed over a deputy District Attorney’s loud and angry objections. Jack’s tantrum then became a part of his legend. For years afterward, Jack and the golf club incident were a standing joke at the Oscars and celebrity roasts. Leno and Letterman had a field day. Jack and his golf club. Ha. Ha.
The killer's name was Tyler Peterson, and the shootings took place in Crandon, Wisconsin. Excerpts from Mark Belling:
Did Peterson really kill himself?
The "official" version is that he was wounded by a sniper and then shot himself three times in the head with his .40 caliber Glock handgun. I suppose this is possible. That would mean accepting the notion that a wounded man would be able to hold a handgun, blast himself in the head, not drop the gun, blast himself in the head a second time, not drop the gun and then blast himself in the head a third time. None of this would explain why he didn’t kill himself in the 12 preceding hours when he had the chance. ...
But if the "official" version is the real version, it means there was a disgracefully slow response to a volatile man who had already killed six people. The Virginia Tech shooting, in which the gunman’s killings were one hour apart, demonstrates why it is critical that homicidal maniacs be apprehended immediately. The authorities who allowed Peterson to wander around for 12 hours could have empowered a deranged man to kill many more people. And that’s if the official version is accepted.
An alternative theory is that a decision was made by a bunch of small town cops to take care of the Peterson problem. Peterson had already shot at a Crandon police officer and was the murderer of six innocent people. Did they deliberately wait until they could get him out into the open and then execute him? That is a fair question to ponder. There’s certainly no proof of it, but right now there isn’t any proof of ANYTHING.
The Philadelphia Inquirer lists the recent ones:
Michael J. Matthews, 1982-1984. Pleaded guilty to taking bribes from an undercover FBI agent and with other corruption schemes involving mob leaders. Sentenced to 15 years.
James L. Usry, 1984-1990. Charged in 1989 with 13 other political leaders in "Operation Comserv," and pleaded guilty to taking an illegal $6,000 campaign contribution. Admitted into a pretrial intervention program that expunged his conviction.
James Whelan, 1990-2001. Credited with stabilizing city government and running a corruption-free administration.
Lorenzo Langford, 2002-2005. Sued the city for employment discrimination, shared in an $850,000 settlement that a judge later declared "invalid."
Robert Levy, 2006-present. Federal law enforcement authorities are said to be investigating Levy's claims to have fought in the elite Army Green Berets in Vietnam.
America's Most Wanted tells the story of August 24, 1970 in Madison, Wisconsin:
People from thirty miles away were awakened by the big boom and pieces of the stolen truck were found on the roofs of eight story buildings three blocks away. Sterling Hall was in ruins. The physics department was completely destroyed. The chemistry department was next to ruined. Ironically, the New Year's Eve Gang's target, the Army Math Research Center, was only slightly damaged. Years and years of research was gone. Thirty-two other buildings on the campus were damaged. The explosion cost UW over $6 million to repair the damage. ...
Their victim was Robert Fassnacht, a physics researcher studying superconductivity. His project, which included years and years of research, was also destroyed in the blast. Many physicists would have to start from scratch. Fassnacht was a father of three, his children all youngsters. He was in the lab late because the Fassnacht family was going on a vacation the next day and being such a dedicated worker, Robert wanted to finish his project before leaving. ...
We know one fact: Leo Burt, one of the worst terrorists in American history, has evaded justice for nearly forty years. It's time to bring him home, and make him face his vicious crime.
Those photos are age-progressed views of what Leo Burt might look like, 37 years later. If you have your own blog, why not consider running them? And if you've seen Leo Burt, call America's Most Wanted: 1-800-CRIME-TV. (via Charlie Sykes)
From the official report:
Virginia Tech did not have classroom door locks operable from the inside of the room. Whether to add such locks is controversial. They can block entry of an intruder and compartmentalize an attack. Locks can be simple manually operated devices or part of more sophisticated systems that use electromechanical locks operated from a central security point in a building or even university-wide. The locks must be easily opened from the inside to allow escape from a fire or other emergency when that is the safer course of action. While adding locks to classrooms may seem an obvious safety feature, some voiced concern that locks could facilitate rapes or assaults in classrooms and increase university liability. (An attacker could drag someone inside a room at night and lock the door, blocking assistance.) On the other hand, a locked room can be a place of refuge when one is pursued. On balance, the panel generally thought having locks on classroom doors was a good idea.
Via JunkYardBlog, some excerpts from Tis Gar Plen:
| Cost of Life Without Parole: Cases Equivalent To Death Penalty Cases |
Cost of Death Penalty Cases | |||||
| 1. $34,200/year (1) for 50 years (2), at a 2% (3) annual cost increase, plus $75,000 (4) for trial & appeals |
= $3.01 million | $60,000/year (1) for 6 years (5), at a 2% (3) annual cost increase, plus $1.5 million (4) for trial & appeals |
= $1.88 million | |||
| 2. Same, except 3% (3) | = $4.04 million | Same, except 3% (3) | = $1.89 million | |||
| 3. Same, except 4% (3) | = $5.53 million | Same, except 4% (3) | = $1.91 million |
There is no question that the up front costs of the death penalty are significantly higher than for equivalent LWOP cases. There also appears to be no question that, over time, equivalent LWOP cases are much more expensive - from $1.2 to $3.6 million - than death penalty cases. Opponents ludicrously claim that the death penalty costs, over time, 3-10 times more than LWOP.
In Cold Blog on serial killer Randy Kraft:
The serial killer and subject of my first book, Angel of Darkness, celebrates his 25th year as a ward of the state of California this year. In his cell along San Quentin’s Death Row he turned 62 last March 19 and while his older sister Kay has helped tend his flame as web mistress for him with his Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty website, Randy himself retains a virtual silence concerning the dozens of murders of which he was accused and/or convicted during the 1970s and early 80s. Dietrich Timmerman-Carpio, who recently paid Randy a visit, tells me he appears to be headed towards retirement age looking trim and fit and ever hopeful about getting out of jail after having long been forcibly retired from his avocation of killing, raping, sodomizing and mutilating young men and boys.
I haven’t looked lately to see what the annual costs are these days of keeping Randy incarcerated, fed, and housed, but it seems to me that it hovered around $80,000 back when Angel of Darkess was first published in 1991. Taking inflation into consideration, he has to have cost taxpayers well over $2 million – more likely double or triple that if you factor in the cost of his ongoing legal appeals.
The whole cost argument is so old-fashioned. What's the carbon footprint of this guy? I bet it's such that we need to execute this scum to Save Planet Earth!
A longer-than-usual excerpt from a worthwhile post by Christian Schneider:
Once again, the issue of requiring identification for cold medicine has reared its head. At least once a year, someone starts bitching and moaning about how they had to stand in line for Sudafed, and the whole airing of grievances starts all over again.
Now, I certainly am not immune to complaining about meaningless government regulations. As a legislative staffer, I worked on plenty of goofball bills that I probably wouldn’t have minded seeing go up in flames. But I also wrote the cold medicine bill – and it’s one of the proudest things I’ve done in my time working for the Senate.
So while I hate to inject actual facts into the parade of complaining, I have to do so, just so people know there actually was a reason to do this.
First, a distinction has to be made between the issue of meth labs and the issue of meth use. The law was intended to keep meth cooks from being able to purchase large amounts of pseudoephedrine to set up toxic meth labs in their homes. These are the poisonous labs where children often live, and police have to raid wearing Haz-Mat suits. Of course, the bill isn’t going to eliminate demand for meth – nobody ever said it would. To argue that the bill is ineffective because meth is coming in from Mexico is a red herring.
In fact, statistics show that the number of meth labs seized in the state has dropped by 60%. So, in fact, the bill hasn’t “done nothing.” It actually has accomplished something fairly extraordinary – which is why, if you ask anyone in law enforcement in Western Wisconsin, they’ll tell you that this is the best law enforcement bill they’ve seen in a long time.
Fred Rosen describing Carl Denaro, a survivor of the "Son of Sam" killing spree in New York City 30 years ago:
He's the Existential Survivor. I never met a cooler guy in my life. I'm talking Steve McQueen/Johnny Depp cool. Carl figures he should be dead. He doesn't take chances but he is acutely aware he shouldn't be here. The Long Island breezes feel a little bit more refreshing to him, the stars at night a little brighter. I wonder how far any of us have to go to give thanks for those small things. The truth is I am not a very religious guy. Neither for that matter is Carl.
But there is something out there. I guess I'll never stop trying to figure out what it is.
Ron Franscell explains:
It's the brainchild of Los Angeles Times best-selling true crime author Corey Mitchell of San Antonio, author of "Hollywood Death Scenes," "Dead and Buried," "Murdered Innocents," "Evil Eyes," and "Strangler." He's cajoled and corralled 30 of the most interesting names in the field of true crime ... and me ... to spill our guts every day about crime and punishment. The topics will range far and wide, I promise, and it's likely that more blood will be spilled than in an Ann Rule paperback.
Among the bloggers will be best-selling author and O'Reilly Factor correspondent Aphrodite Jones; true-crime media personality Dr. Katherine Ramsland; author Joyce King, who chronicled the James Byrd dragging murder in Jasper, Texas; Edgar-winning author Carlton Stowers; 48 Hours Mystery producer Paul LaRosa; crime victims' advocate Andy Kahan; and crime blogger/lawyer Laura James.
And while In Cold Blog will feature 22 true-crime writers, its featured writers also will include a sheriff, forensic artist, TV producer, book editor, TV personalities, a true-crime radio host, a historical-crime blogger, the mother and brother of a serial killer's victim, and even a rock 'n' roller whose art is inspired by crime stories. Plus, you can expect the unexpected high-profile guest to pop in every so often.
Josh Karp on Court TV's Dominick Dunne:
Being "somebody" in Hollywood meant everything to him. Then, just like some Aaron Spelling miniseries, it all started to unravel. One night, while dining at a posh L.A. eatery Dunne was tapped on the shoulder by the restaurant's captain.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Dunne," said the man, "But Mr. Sinatra made me do this." The captain decked him in front of the celebrity crowd. Sinatra sat at a nearby table smirking. He had paid the man $50 to put Dunne in his place.
That night was a harbinger of things to come. During the next decade, overcome by his insecurities, Dominick Dunne hit bottom. He lost his wife and his career. He became an alcoholic and a cocaine addict. Worst of all, he was a "nobody" in Hollywood.
"When you're down and out, there's no meaner place to live than Hollywood," Dunne says, "You can get away with your embezzlements and your lies and your murders, but you can never get away with failing." In 1979 53-year old Dominick Dunne literally fled Hollywood. He would never live there again. ...
It was the Simpson trial that brought a different Dominick Dunne back to L.A. in 1995. Returning to the city of his epic failure, Dunne was suddenly sought out by precisely the type of folks who had shunned him when he was down and out. He became Hollywood's most desirable guest, gladly accepting invitations to share the scoop on O.J. in dining rooms all over Beverly Hills.
One of those nights he was invited to Gregory Peck's house where he was the center of attention -- overshadowing a petulant, sulking old singer named Frank Sinatra.
"Life" says Dunne "Is too perfect for words."
TV hero CW Jensen (and, I must add, real-life Hero too) sent word of this new product along. I thought it looked pretty neat. If you jog or otherwise travel in spooky places, this could be just the protection you need.
An excerpt from Steve Bass:
I'm watching my credit union account like a hawk. That's because Priority One Credit Union -- the one I use -- had a security breach that was stunning.
They recently sent election ballots to members. Printed on the outside of the envelope were some numbers. The first was our account number.
That might not have been enough to help with anyone intent on identity theft, so they also printed my social security number on the envelope.
I received a letter of apology the other day. They told me they deeply regretted the inconvenience.
Dennis Prager on Virginia Tech:
Immediate talk of "healing" is not the only rhetoric we should drop. Let's also drop the nearly universal moral absurdity of counting murderers among the dead. As of this writing, eight hours after the massacre, I see on all the networks "32 dead." It should read "31 murdered." I do not know when exactly this notion of counting murderers along with their victims began, but it is a moral travesty.
No news organization would have imagined giving the number of dead at Pearl Harbor so as to include Japanese pilots shot down. But in our age of moral neutrality, all dead are given equal weight -- the terrorist along with his victims; the shooter along with the students.
Why is the Virginia Tech murderer always referred to as the "gunman" and not the "murderer"? Had he stabbed a dozen students to death, would he be the "knifeman"?
And why is it always referred to as a "tragedy"? Virginia Tech wasn't hit by a cyclone. That would be a tragedy. This was evil. Call it that.
An excerpt from a WSJ blog, The Informed Reader:
But as sentences for white-collar crime increase, lifestyles at white-collar prisons now roughly match those in higher-security facilities. Mark Morze, who spent five years in federal prison for his role in the ZZZZ Best Co. scam in the 1980s, says corrections officers in Lompoc, in California, would wistfully remember the days when Watergate conspirators were imprisoned there. They could order chili from a nearby Beverly Hills restaurant, played rounds of golf at a neighboring course, and some even sneaked out for meetings with prostitutes in the parking lot.
Those days are gone. Inmates at most prison camps no longer get weekend-long furloughs and must wear prison uniforms rather than their own clothes. How much inmates can spend at the prison store is limited, and they must work inside the walls instead of out in the community as before.
Excerpts from Pat Buchanan:
What happened in Blacksburg cannot be divorced from what's been happening to America since the immigration act brought tens of millions of strangers to these shores, even as the old bonds of national community began to disintegrate and dissolve in the social revolutions of the 1960s. ...
Since the 1960s, we have become alienated from one another even as millions of strangers arrive every year. And as Americans no longer share the old ties of history, heritage, faith, language, tradition, culture, music, myth or morality, how can immigrants share those ties?
Many immigrants do not assimilate. Many do not wish to. They seek community in their separate subdivisions of our multicultural, multiracial, multiethnic, multilingual mammoth mall of a nation. And in numbers higher than our native born, some are going berserk here.
Some berserk immigrants include:
Seems like we could use a little better screening process, eh?
Phil Proctor has a simple idea I haven't heard anywhere else:
Why couldn't the victims of the most recent massacre have simply LOCKED THE DOORS of their classrooms against the murderous assault? We've heard heartbreaking stories of attempts to blockade doors with desks, chairs and bodies, resulting in heroic sacrifices, but it appears that none of the rooms were equipped with inexpensive inner bolt-locks and peepholes to insure that the students would be safe during their period of instruction. That approach seems to be working to keep our airlines safer (although we've also armed our pilots) so why not apply the same principle here?
An excerpt from Tom Barrett:
He also took away weight-lifting equipment. Sheriffs and wardens have long complained that prisoners spend hours every day “bulking up” with weights and becoming extraordinarily strong. Jail and prison guards don’t have the luxury of hours of weight training every day. And the result has often been that super-strong inmates have attacked and over-powered guards. Instead of complaining about this, Joe did something about it.
He started chain gangs so the inmates could do something useful with their time. They do free work on county and city projects. Then he started the first female chain gangs in the country so he wouldn't get sued for discrimination. He also started the nation’s first juvenile chain gang.
He cut off cable TV because all the prisoners watched were R and X-rated movies. Then he found that there was a ridiculous federal law that requires cable TV in jails. So he hooked the cable TV back up, and now only allows the Disney Channel and the Weather Channel. When he was asked why he allowed the Weather Channel he replied, “So they will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs.”
He removed coffee from the jails because it has no nutritional value. When the inmates complained, he told them, "This isn't the Ritz/Carlton. If you don't like it, don't come back."
From Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick:
The crime issue in the city of Detroit has consistently and constantly undermined any notion of recovery and revitalization or renaissance in this city for more than 40 years. No matter what we do – host the Super Bowl … host the All-Star Game … lead the region in new housing … sell million dollar condos downtown … build more housing than ever … open three new neighborhood recreation centers … fix streets … fix parks … host the Grand Prix on Belle Isle – the crime issue constantly undermines any notion of recovery all the time.
The problem of crime is not unique to Detroit. FBI statistics show that violent crime is on the rise throughout America after a decade of decline. Cincinnati recorded its deadliest year ever in 2005. Oakland, California had the highest number of homicides in more than a decade. San Diego had a 33 percent increase in homicides while Miami had a 43 percent increase and Orlando a 123 percent increase.
But the fact that other cities are having their own problems brings no comfort to us in Detroit. We have to develop new strategies to bring down crime totals in Detroit. ...My Beloved Community, I truly understand the history of African American people in this country. But we have come to a point in our community where this is no conspiracy by Outsiders doing this to us. This is us killing us. This is mostly African Americans killing African Americans. This is some family member of mine or yours killing some family member of yours or mine. And we, as a community, have to stop it now. Nobody’s coming to save us. We have to stand up for ourselves and stand up now.
(via Charlie Sykes)
Another terrific post by Paula Zargaj-Reynolds over at Advertising Is Good For You:
A campaign that's great because of what it does and doesn't do.
Consumers will be drawn to these ads, enjoying the campaign's wit while also reminding themselves not to be cheap the next time they have to purchase tires. Few will realize what a stroke of socially responsible genius this campaign is.
Imagine trying to create a scenario that shows the menace one might encounter if one's tire were to go flat at a particularly inopportune time. It would be a very difficult scenario to create without also promoting unfair stereotypes. By using the comic book style, the creators of this campaign got their message across in a way that doesn't hurt or offend anyone.
Policemen are found everywhere, on land, on sea, in the air, on horses, and sometimes in your hair. In spite of the fact that you can't find one when you want one, they are usually there when it counts most! The best way to get one is to pick up the nearest phone.
Policemen deliver lectures, babies, and bad news. They are required to have the wisdom of Solomon, the disposition of a lamb and muscles of steel, and are often accused of having a heart to match. He is the one who rings the doorbell, swallows hard and announces the passing of a loved one, then spends the rest of the day wondering why he took such a crummy job.
Policemen have homes, some of them are covered with ivy, but most of them mortgages. His credit is good - that is very helpful, because his salary isn't. Policemen raise a lot of kids, mostly they belong to other people.
Policemen see more misery, bloodshed, trouble, and sunrises than the average person. Like the postman, policemen must be out in all kinds of weather. His uniform changes with the climate, but his outlook on life remains the same, mostly a blank, but always hoping for a better world.
24 hours-a-day the Mint Police safeguard over 2,800 U.S. Mint employees, thousands of visitors and $100 billion in gold, silver and coinage. A great idea for a TV show, eh?
From CBS: Two former executives at a government-funded youth organization whose finances were scrutinized after it diverted money to the liberal radio network Air America were charged Thursday with misappropriating $1.2 million of the non-profit's funds. Charles Rosen, a former executive director at the Gloria Wise Community Center, and his former assistant director, Jeffrey Aulenbach, face charges of grand larceny and obstructing governmental administration. Rosen was also charged with forgery.
New York City's Department of Investigation, which investigated the nonprofit for two years, said the men improperly took more than $290,000 from the organization for their personal use, on top of their already unusually large salaries. The money -- described in the non-profit's books as business expenses -- went to pay for home renovations and furnishings and new cars, among other things, according to a Department of Investigation report released Thursday.
City investigators said the pair also improperly transferred $875,000 to Air America, which was co-founded by one of Gloria Wise's executives.
From Mark Belling:
After the latest act of depravity from Milwaukee’s crime-infested central city - the gang rape and sexual assault of an 11-year old girl - the usual political and media suspects engaged in their predictable hand-wringing. The police chief blamed society, the mayor blamed lack of hope and the Milwaukee daily newspaper, as usual, blamed poverty and lack of jobs.
None of these excuses would have been offered up if this attack had occurred in the suburbs or a similarly non-black area. But crime in Milwaukee’s inner city is always "explained" away. There are always "reasons" like racism or poverty or the catch-all, lack of jobs.
The problem is that the facts never seem to coincide with the excuses. The most recent case was telling. The 40-year-old man in whose home the assault of the pre-teen girl took place, and who has been charged with participating in the attack, says he came home from his job as a butcher, had some cocaine, drank a bunch of beer and then joined the other men in the brutalization.
He was working as a butcher. That’s usually a pretty good job and one that requires a skill set and training. He also had enough money to buy his coke and his beer. So much for poverty. The victim, like the attackers, is black. So racism can’t be blamed. Nonetheless, the excuse-makers are unfazed. They’ll continue to prattle about jobs, poverty and racism every time a bunch of central city sociopaths engages in the senseless abuse of another human being.
Functional Ambivalent thinks so:
Yeah, well: Now there is news that Fred Goldman, whose son was murdered by O.J. Simpson, is suing the former B-movie has-been for his last forfeitable asset: his Right of Publicity. Goldman is turning the whole Right of Publicity legal infrastructure on its ear, reasoning that if the Right of Publicity can be inherited, it can also be confiscated. Armed with a $33.5 million civil judgment against the criminally acquitted Simpson, Goldman claims that he's as entitled to control OJ's Right of Publicity as he would be to take posession of any of OJ's other assets. ...
The beauty of this, should Goldman win, is that a vengeful father would have legal control over OJ Simpson's name and face. He could quite legally license a whole bunch of horribly insulting "Official OJ Simpson" products. Imagine: Goldman could license an OJ Simpson animated movie telling the story of the murder and OJ couldn't do a damned thing about it. Goldman could authorize an OJ Simpson urinal cake, an OJ Simpson suppository, an official OJ Simpson penis pump. He could authorize the Franklin Mint to cast a limited-edition "I Killed Nicole and Ron" OJ Simpson commemorative coin. Whatever he wanted, he could do. For the next hundred years, Goldman could put in motion a profitable publicity machine that would torture OJ with his own likeness, name and signature.
As soon as there's a "I Killed Nicole and Ron" coffee mug, I'll let you know.
Yes, this is a real book. Will this be the match that finally ignites the violence-prone Left? The New York Times has already given it their seal of approval. All you guys and gals on the Left, isn't it time to re-examine the peer group you're hanging around with?
It's a lot of fun, sitting there in the Oasis, enjoying your meal while watching the traffic whiz by underneath you. But Beware! The Bad Guys never relax, as my former co-worker Tony learned the hard way a number of years ago.
It seems Tony was taking his two sons to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field one Saturday. They were running ahead of schedule so they decided to stop to get a bite to eat at the Des Plaines Oasis. They didn't stop long -- it couldn't have been longer than a half hour or so -- but when they came out, their car was gone!
Tony called the police, and they came quickly. While he was giving his report to the policeman one of his kids came running up to them and said "Dad, Dad, there's a car just like ours in the other parking lot!" Except it wasn't just like Tony's car, it was Tony's car. He had gone out the wrong way, to the wrong parking lot.
So if you're ever at an Illinois Tollway Oasis and your car gets stolen, remember the lesson Tony learned and go check the other parking lot, just to be sure!
| Watergate | Travelgate | |
| How it started | Third rate burglary | Third rate contract scam |
| First to fall | James McCord | Georgia Thompson |
| Arrogant spokesman | Ron Ziegler | Anson Kaye |
| Marauding prosecutor | Archibald Cox | Steve Biskupic |
| Aggressive media | Washington Post | Madison’s Channel 27 |
| Why it was a big deal | Pattern of abuses | Pattern of abuses |
| Defining physical trait | five o’clock shadow | five o’clock shadow |
| Low level operative | Donald Segretti | Katie Boyce |
| High level operative | John Mitchell | Marc Marotta |
| Insider who knows all | Haldeman and Ehrlichman | Susan Goodwin |
| Turning point | Discovery of the tapes | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee building lawsuit |
| Whistle-blower | John Dean | none (yet) |
| Inept early opponent | McGovern | Green |
| Revealing statement | "I am not a crook" | "I’m not going to answer that" |
| Weirdest participant | G. Gordon Liddy | Peg Lautenschlager |
| Election result | Victory | Too close to call |
| Ultimate outcome | Resignation | We’ll find out in ‘07 |
(by Mark Belling)
From Crime Library:
When Prohibition laws were enacted in 1920, Hart saw an opportunity to get a more interesting job where his expert marksmanship would be useful. He became a Prohibition enforcement officer.
Incredibly enough, while his baby brother Al was starting to make bootlegging history in Chicago, his big brother was making a name for himself aggressively busting up illegal stills in Nebraska. Nor was Hart just a prohibition agent, he kept the peace in that frontier area, regularly arresting horse thieves and other criminals.
As his fame as a lawman increased, he was hired by the U.S. Indian Service to try to
