The Rule of Law?

The most telling evidence of whether or not a law is practical, enforceable or ultimately correct, is to watch what happens when it is violated. Watch how the authorities deal with it.

Oh, you've heard of some of these laws; like the one in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that states that you cannot wear red clothing on Sunday on any city street. Or the one in Frankfort, Kentucky which prohibits chewing gum in any public building.

Now, we have a few of these right here in Chicago. One of them though, is a bit more serious than gum or clothing color, yet can be viewed as being just as ridiculous and incorrect in it's directive based upon the points of contention that I mentioned above. It has the potential to have a very serious impact on those who violate it, and those who enforce it, but it's oh-so provocative.

Here's the thing; we have a law against handguns in the city of Chicago. It's on the books. Been there awhile. The U.S. Supreme Court has struck it down when it was tested, and yet our mayor, the honorable lib Richard M. Daly, continues to support it publicly when asked what he wants to do to lower the incredible crime rate in the city. It's usually his only answer. For him, it's the typical liberal doctrine which always states that the problem is too many guns. And they say this over and over and over again, seemingly never comprehending that criminals don't care to follow laws! These libs believe in a total fantasy world where gang-bangers, rapists and general punk thugs will resort to things like sling-shots, switchblades and crossbows, once they're aware that handguns are illegal to possess! Their stance is beyond any reason, but they cling to it.

But yesterday, there was an event here in Chicago that forces a guy like Daly to come out into the world of reality and talk about his position. And it is so amusing to watch.

Tuesday night, an armed, 80 year-old, Korean war veteran, shot and killed an intruder who broke into his home. The thug was also armed. It sounds like the best possible outcome, doesn't it? Good guy wins, bad guy goes to hell. Except that the elderly homeowner used an illegal weapon to defend himself. Oh, oh! Now what?

Well, what do you think?

Of course, the Mayor says nothing, does nothing. But in fact, he says a lot when this old veteran is not taken away in handcuffs with all of the press standing outside of his home. So what's up Mr. Mayor? This old guy showed absolutely no respect for the law. Your law. The law which exists in almost every liberal platform around the country.

So let's go back to my opening statement: "The most telling evidence of whether or not a law is practical, enforceable or ultimately correct, is to watch what happens when it is violated. Watch how the authorities deal with it."

This elderly veteran will of course, not be charged. And cases like his will be repeated several times this year, just like last year. And yet they go unpunished. That tells us that this law is no more righteous or reasoned than the one banning Juicy Fruit in Frankfort. So shut up Daly, and start fighting criminals instead of law abiding citizens who want to rely on just a little more than you to protect them.

Another Press Pass

He was viewed as a friend of "big oil".
He was viewed as weak on environmental issues.
He was accused of being a friend of the oil companies.
He was accused of not caring for the poor folks of Louisiana.
He was a Texan

And so if he was still in charge, the press would be frying George W. Bush. It would be really ugly. They would make it so.

But after a month of watching untold gallons of crude oil free-flowing into the gulf, and doing virtually nothing, Obama has yet to be asked a single hard question on what the government is going to do to help.

I heard the term "Obama's Katrina" about this disaster and I know damn well it didn't come from any mainstream media source. But it might be the best description yet for his handling of the situation.

Look, this thing is one BIG mess. It may be that the right strategy to fix it requires something more than Federal intervention, but only Obama would be given that pass by our fair, wise and accurate press and their "expert" panels. As of now, probably the only angle they're working on is how to blame Bush for it.

Reality is Hard

From the New York Times today:

"In Yonkers, more than 100 retired police officers and firefighters are collecting pensions greater than their pay when they were working. One of the youngest, Hugo Tassone, retired at 44 with a base pay of about $74,000 a year. His pension is now $101,333 a year."

We have the exact same kind of thing bankrupting Illinois and the city of Chicago right now, and presumably more municipalities across the country.

Let me be very, very clear: I have the greatest respect and admiration for those who work as police officers and firefighters, but at some point (and that point unfortunately was years ago) a city or state government HAD to have seen this kind of an agreement as absolutely unsustainable through ANY kind of economy. It's very likely that this particular fireman would collect this for at least 20 more years (he's 47 now), and perhaps for much longer. I'm sorry, but the system cannot work like this. It's not even feasible. And honestly, even he, or at least his union, should have been smart enough to realize the same thing. They were dreaming.

I absolutely have no issue with the individual fighting to keep what he was told he'd collect when he began his career. But guess what, there are millions of us who've been subject to broken promises, albeit mostly in the private sector. It's not right, I know, but it's inevitable when they're promised the end of the rainbow. It doesn't exist, and we all should know that.

Are You Sorry Yet?

"We see [health care] as an entrepreneurial bill, a bill that says to someone, if you want to be creative and be a musician or whatever, you can leave your work, focus on your talent, your skill, your passion, your aspirations because you will have health care." --House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

In other words, you artistic types who would simply like to turn your hobby into your "job", go ahead and do that. Have fun. We'll have the real workers, the one's in their humdrum, 40-hour grinds, pay for your medical coverage.

Honest to God, is America listening to this?!! Everyday, I am more incensed at the thought processes of these so-called leaders, Barry, Harry and Nancy, and the ruin that they are attempting to bring upon this country.

America will wake up soon. I have to believe that.

Aplogizer in Chief Strikes Again

I'm doing my darnedest to reduce the political content on this blog. My desire and motivation to engage anyone on the wisdom of conservatism is as strong as ever, but as more and more of the Obama "fog" clears from the minds of others, I feel less compelled to be constantly writing about the pitfalls of supporting his agenda. I believe the country is slowly learning it's very hard lesson, and it won't be repeated, but....

Yesterday's event, with the president of Mexico in state meeting with Obama, is yet another major farce that I must vent on. I'm sorry.

Did you here any of Claderon's comments and/or any of Obama's pitiful responses to them? Calderon spewed such absurd and hypocritical words that they didn't even deserve a response, and yet Obama tried. I don't know which was worse.

The Mexican prez actually took the opportunity to scold us for Arizona's recent immigration reform attempt. Standing right next to Obama and telling us how awful we are if we simply decide to uphold our laws. All I could think of is that this guy's nerve was being nothing but empowered by a smiling Obama right next to him, and sure enough, when it was his time to speak, our prez went right into his patented "shame on America" mode that he always goes into on any world stage.

Calderon stated that he was deeply concerned about discrimination of his people, but the thrust of it was very accusatory. Obama merely nodded his head. And when it was time for him to speak, our commander agreed with him.

What our president should have done is turn the tables on him and comment about Mexico's own tough illegal alien laws. Ask him about the treatment of Cubans who constantly try to cross into Mexico illegally. What becomes of them? I can tell you this, they are dealt with swiftly. No entitlements to anything except being pointed back to Cuba after a few nights in a Mexican jail. Illegals from Mexico's southern borders with Central American countries find the same fate.

And he should have asked him about why it is that illegals want to leave Mexico so badly and in such large numbers anyway, even risking death in the desert? What is he doing doing to help change that?

The leaders of these various third-world countries are what they are. We can disagree with them and question why they are given a stage if this is what they want to talk about. But the real issue for us is our own president. His constant pandering and apologizing to these total goofs is absolutely sickening. But it's what he truly feels. There is no pride or respect in him for the country he was given to lead (or it's laws), and it becomes more tragic every day.

The End of the Line

A year or so after I first found the NASA website, I often go back and search for when the next viewing of the Space Shuttle will be possible. Yes, that's right, you can actually see the orbiting Shuttle fly overhead on clear nights when it's circling the earth 250 miles up. You certainly can't see any detail from that distance, but for a short two or three minutes it becomes the brightest spot in the sky. Silent, and with no blinking lights, it's easily distinguished from stars and airplane lights. What you're actually seeing is sunlight reflected off of it's bright white surface. That's why the viewing opportunities are always just before dawn, or just after sunset.

Saturday night, the clouds cleared just in time for a real nice viewing. First, the International Space Station zipped by, looking much the same as the Shuttle light, and then 14 minutes later the Shuttle came by on the same trajectory. On that particular orbit, the Shuttle was literally chasing the Space Station down in preparation for docking. What we saw, my wife and I, was the very last Shuttle mission, heading to it's usual destination for the very last time. Special and kind of sad.

The Shuttle has been expensive and even deadly over it's three decades of service. But it's also been a magnificent scientific tool and an impressive symbol of American ingenuity and capability. Sadly, there is no immediate replacement for it's unique abilities to ferry human beings to and from space.

There are many who argue that we can accomplish a whole lot without the need to have a human physical presence with it. It's cheaper by far, and of course safer. In other words, unmanned space exploration. Perhaps that is the foreseeable future for our programs. But still, something is lost without direct human interface. The most powerful computers in the world cannot relate the emotional aspect of space flight. And for us on the ground, what excitement is there in a bright light in the sky on a starry night, if you can't look up and fascinate on the fact that there are people inside looking back at you?

Ernie Harwell - R.I.P.

He lived a long and remarkable life, and his death yesterday came not unexpectedly. Ernie Harwell, the "Voice of the Detroit Tigers", has passed away.

This Sunday will be the 30th anniversary of the death of my grandfather. I have written here before about how much he loved the game of baseball, the Tigers, and Ernie. Some of my fondest childhood memories are sitting with my grandpa out in his garage, and listening to Ernie broadcast on a warm summer night in northern Michigan. If the game was a late one, say from Anaheim or Seattle, the Whip-Poor-Wills would start their chirping out behind the house before the 7th inning stretch, and the stars would just be coming out in the northern sky. Smoke from grandpa's pipe or cigar would help keep the mosquitoes at bay, and all was right with the world.

Ernie's voice and wit were magic in the booth. It was more than a job. He loved the Tigers as much as any of us, and it always showed. So did his wisdom. How could he possibly have known what little Michigan town that everyone who caught a foul ball was from?!!

Grandpa passed a long time ago, at least it feels like long. Now Ernie has joined him. Maybe in heaven the great game continues and there are a lot more than just nine innings. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that if there is a heaven for these two, then the game definitely plays on, and the only thing that's "long gone" is still a well hit baseball.

R.I.P. Ernie Harwell.

If You're In, You're Out

In Tracy City, Tennessee, incumbent Mayor Barbara Brock was defeated in her re-election bid by challenger Carl Geary, even though Geary had died a month before the vote! Local businessman Chris Rogers explained his vote for Geary by saying that he knew about his death, "...but wanted someone other than her.


OK, so this story is pretty nutty, but not a whole lot more shocking than many other recent election stories around the country, starting with the most significant when democrats lost Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. All of them point to just how tough 2010 is destined to be for incumbents hoping to retain their jobs. So incumbents take note: if Mayor Brock can be defeated by a dead guy, imagine the kind of fight you'll likely face by someone with a pulse!