Life in "Progress" City - Chicago edition

It was the middle of the lunch rush Saturday, and Mike Winston was working in the kitchen of his Tinley Park restaurant, the Ashford House, when a waitress screamed a fight had broken out in the dining room.

Police call the melee at the restaurant a targeted assault by a mob that Winston said wielded metal batons and hammers. Ten diners were hurt in the attack, and three of those were hospitalized.

Tinley Park police had five suspected assailants in custody, and Winston said 18 young men, all wearing hooded jackets and obscuring their faces with scarves and other coverings, stormed into the restaurant.

“They came running in the door single file,” said Winston, who owns Ashford House, 7959 W. 159th St., and the adjacent Winston’s Market.

I just wonder how balsy these clowns would have been pulling that stunt out here in "Redville" where about 25 percent of the diners would have had a concealed carry on them?

More.....

Cory Booker Hits Obama Campaign for Attacks on Private Sector

Teacher yells at student because of a question he asked about Obama!

Obama Deputy Campaign Manager: Economy "Will Continue to be a Challenge...

Ken Burns Presents: Elizabeth Warren's Campaign Trail of Tears

Krauthammer Nails Obama, Wright, and Media

Day One

Another Fauxchohantas?

So Obama's literary agent notes that Obama was a Kenyan on a press release.

Why would anyone come to think that? Is anyone just going to assume you were born in (name your country) because your father was born there?

In fact, do you recall the Bill Ayer's mail man who claimed to have met Obama and the elder Ayer's and was told that Obama was a foreign student who the elder Ayer's was putting through school? If you don't, read this...

I'm not a birther. Frankly, the whole thing is a waste of time since there was so many other areas of this clown's life that would have disqualified just about any other candidate for president if the media had gone after it.

However, I'm starting to think that people are inclined to think Obama is Kenyan because that is what he told many people much like Elizabeth Warren pretended to be an Indian?

Here's another take...........

While reading Tim Stanley’s amusing take on the “Obama is a Kenyan according to his literary agent” revelation on Breitbart.com, it suddenly struck me – what is with these liberals and their phony identities? Aren’t they happy being what they are?

Poor Elizabeth Warren wasn’t happy with her Caucasian self and had to pretend to be Cherokee. And now we find that Obama let sleeping dogs lie about his having been “Born in Kenya” on his agent’s website from 1991 until 2007 (just in the nick of time before running for Pres. of the USA).

Now I’m no “birther,” not even close. But this stuff is creepier than actually being born in a foreign country. This is in the realm of serious weirdness.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how the mainstream media plays this, because, as Stanley points out, much of this would be uncovered by a simple Google search. Stanley wonders why they never asked these questions, but I assume he was being rhetorical.

But in case they want a question to ask , here’s a simple one for POTUS at the next White House press conference: Assuming you never read the false information in your agent’s press kit, why did she think you were born in Kenya in the first place?

We can go from there.

But hey, The Washington Post is coming out with a 5000 word expose that 30 years ago, Mitt Romney farted on his college roommate's pillow and pulled the 'ole trash basket full of water against the door trick.

Justice for Sale

Life in "Progress" City - Chicago edition

Two days ago, For the Good of Illinois added another tranche of data to our online transparency portal at openthebooks.com. This installment includes every check written by the City of Chicago from FY 2002 to 2011.

It contains $74 billion in vendor payments. Last year alone, over 69,000 entities received checks, and you can see it all at openthebooks.com. The data contains numerous details: vendor code, transaction id, PO number, fund, department, amount, check number, and date.

Here’s a curious item found while digging though the data…

The Admiral Theatre, Inc., is a strip club on the northwest side of the city. Obama for America is the President’s campaign fund.

The City of Chicago approved payouts to each of them, using the same catch-all “vendor code” or expense classification. Further review found that neither vendor exists in the Chicago’s current on-line transparency portal.

The Admiral Theatre strip club received $5,197.78 from the City of Chicago between the dates 2006 through 2011. The sixteen checks ranges from $1.00 to $1,900. A buck? Is some one tipping dancers using City of Chicago checks?

See a list of City payments to The Admiral Theatre here.

The last time we checked, strip clubs aren’t required to disclose their sources of income, but that’s isn’t the case for presidential campaigns. Obama for America Campaign received a $1,000 check from the city on August 28th, 2007.

More........

He's not a socialist

For a while, I've made the case the the Obamunists were not socialist at all. Instead, I like to refer to them as "Regulists".

You see if you are a socialist, (meaning the goods and services are provided by the government) you are accountable for price increases, shortages, and inefficiencies etc.

But the Regulists are more evil than that.

You see they just regulate companies and industries and when they pass along huge cost increases to their customers as a result of government regulation, they become the bad guys, not the Regulists who put the wheels in motion in the first place.

They just join the chants against the evil capitalist system.

No where has this been more prevalent than the health insurance business.

Want to know why companies are discontinuing health car? Maybe this is why............

The Franciscan University of Steubenville has announced it will drop health insurance coverage for students because the cost of the plan is expected to double under Obamacare. The university also took issue with a federal mandate that their insurance plan provide free birth control.

The small Catholic school in Ohio posted a statement on their website stating they “will not participate in a plan that requires us to violate the consistent teachings of the Catholic Church on the sacredness of human life.”

The university told Fox News that in addition to dropping its student insurance coverage, it will no longer require students to carry insurance. The university said it would maintain their current health insurance coverage for employees.

”This is putting people in a position where they are having to choose between their faith and their morality — and now an unjust cost,” said Mike Hernon, vice president of advancement. “These sorts of regulations from the government are forcing our hand in a way that’s really wrong.”

Hernon said students must have insurance – either through their parent’s policy or through the university’s basic plan. The plan currently costs approximately $600 per year. However, Hernon said their health care provider informed them that under Obamacare, the policy would double in price to $1,200 and the following year it would triple.

“We couldn’t believe the price (increase),” he told Fox News. “We had them go back and reconfirm it. They said it was dictated by coverage limits that were released by the Obama administration.”

Who do you think will be the first out there holding a pitch fork complaining about those evil health care profits?

More.....

Note of the day

Will the media make the comparison?

Maybe I’m missing something, but if Obama’s pal Dr. Eric Whitaker did offer Rev. Wright $150,000 to stay silent for the duration of the campaign, as charged by Ed Klein, how exactly is that different from John Edwards’ pal Fred Baron giving Rielle Hunter money to stay out of the limelight for the duration of the campaign? It’s a good question asked by lawyer/blogger Ted Frank. … Like Frank and Prof. Rick Hasen, I think the Edwards prosecution is misguided, potentially criminalizing lots of donations that might have ulterior political motives (like money spent funding think tanks or making hagiographic documentary movies). But if what Edwards did is fair game for prosecutors, why isn’t what Obama potentially did (assuming you could show a) that Obama knew of Whitaker’s offer, and b) also that he knew it was illegal–the latter being something the prosecution has had trouble proving in the Edwards matter)? …

One difference, I suppose, is that in the Edwards case the money was actually paid, while Wright is said to have turned down the offer. But is that a defense?  If you try to use illegal campaign cash to buy TV time, but the station turns you down, can’t you still be prosecuted for trying? …

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/05/15/is-obama-another-edwards/#ixzz1v2cpbIxj

Address to the People of California: Governor Brown Discusses 2012-2013 ...

Fraudster

Forgetting the Recession?

Occupier Thanks Former Soviet Citizen for 'Converting' Him to Capitalism...

Media priorities

Apparently, the mainstream media is more consumed by the wedgie Mitt Romney gave his roommate in boarding school 48 years ago, to report on this...................

Detailed leaks of operational information about the foiled underwear bomb plot are causing growing anger in the US intelligence community, with former agents blaming the Obama administration for undermining national security and compromising the British services, MI6 and MI5.
The Guardian has learned from Saudi sources that the agent was not a Saudi national as was widely reported, but a Yemeni. He was born in Saudi Arabia, in the port city of Jeddah, and then studied and worked in the UK, where he acquired a British passport.
Mike Scheur, the former head of the CIA's Bin Laden unit, said the leaking about the nuts and bolts of British involvement was despicable and would make a repeat of the operation difficult. "MI6 should be as angry as hell. This is something that the prime minister should raise with the president, if he has the balls. This is really tragic," Scheur said.
He added: "Any information disclosed is too much information. This does seem to be a tawdry political thing."


Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/05/obamas_intel_twofer_undermined_national_security_and_compromised_brit_intelligence.html#ixzz1uhZ6NEAp

No shot putters allowed

I participated in on various track and field and cross country teams for 14 years. During those years, I never witnessed what I would call hazing.

Sure, the freshman always hauled the equipment and the occasional shot putter would get a distance runner on the ground so they could fart on them but serious hazing never happened on any teams or school functions I was on.

Even if there was, what would be the statute on limitations on hazing. I'd say forty years should be about right especially when you can't get the details from on of the victims................ because they're dead........
As if that's not bad enough, barely hours after Obama flip-flops on the issue -- just in time for a big

Hollywood fundraiser where megamillionaires no doubt think that gay marriage is on the top of everyone else's mind as well -- the Obama campaign releases the bombshell that Mitt Romney was a prankster in high school.

Seriously, they are trying to make the case that Romney, who may have been involved in a 1965 prank in which a male student's long hair was cut, was (and therefore still is) anti-gay.

Remember, Romney was in high school almost 50 years ago. Even when I was in high school, a little more than 25 years ago, the issue of someone's sexual preference was far less thought of than it is today, not least because people of all ages stayed "in the closet" far longer and more completely than they do today.

More.......

Life in "Progress" State - CA edition

Jerry Brown announced on Saturday that the state's deficit has ballooned to $16 billion, a huge increase over his $9.2-billion estimate in January.
The bigger deficit is a significant setback for California, which has struggled to turn the page on a devastating budget crisis. Brown, who announced the deficit on YouTube, is expected to outline his full budget proposal on Monday in Sacramento.
"This means we will have to go much further, and make cuts far greater, than I asked for at the beginning of the year," Brown said in the video.
Lawmakers and others were hoping that a rebounding economy would help the state avoid steep cuts to social services. But revenue in April, the most important month of the year for income taxes, fell far short of expectations, leading to a shortfall of at least $3 billion in the current fiscal year.
The state has also spent $2.1 billion more than expected, according to the controller, further worsening California's financial health.
Advocates involved in budget discussions say they expect deeper cuts to social services than Brown originally proposed in January. Union officials are also in negotiations with administration officials about ways to reduce state payroll costs, an issue that wasn't on the table earlier this year.
Brown has said there will be even deeper cuts, mostly to public education, if voters do not improve tax hikes in November. He is seeking a quarter-cent increase in the state sales tax for four years and a seven-year hike on incomes of $250,000 or more that will range from 1 to 3 percentage points. He says the measure would raise $9 billion in the upcoming budget year.


More......

I'm back

I'm back from the sunny confines of the FLA.

My wife and I have a serious conflict when it comes to vacation. I'm mountain; she's beach.

She's never been able to convince me as to what makes the beach so special. It's hot. It's sticky. Most of them smell. She goes there to relax. Relaxing to me involves an air conditioned room with a ball game on.

I have buddies who tell me about the "scenery" on the beach. Seeing a Chris Christie wannabe in a bikini is not what I would call "scenery".

While I was away, I was able to keep up on the news. For the past 10 days, here's a recap of what I gleened........

Elizabeth Warren was an American Indian before she wasn't.

It's kind of funny because when I got my first job in a public accounting firm, when I met one of my coworkers was surprised I was white.

I asked why and he said "When I read your resume, I noticed that your last name is Valentine, you ran track for UC and was a member of the college democrats. I figured you had to be a black guy".

So I guess I should have tanned up a little bit and put Africa-American anywhere I could have received a benefit. Hell, I can guarantee I'm more black than Warren is Indian.

Someone finally got the smelling salts

I really don't know what emotion I feel when so called conservatives like David Brooks and Chris Buckley  are figuring out what all of us hicks in the sticks knew from the onset........

That Barack Obama was, and is, a total ideologue.

Now Peggy Noonan come to the plate with her observations on The One..............

Republicans feel an understandable anxiety about Mr. Obama’s coming campaign: It will be all slice and dice, divide and conquer, break the country into little pieces and pick up as many as you can.

But it still matters that the president doesn’t have a coherent agenda, or a political philosophy that is really clear to people. To the extent he has a philosophy, it tends to pop up furtively in stray comments and then go away. This is to a unique degree a presidency of inference, its overall meaning never vividly declared. In some eras, that may be a plus. In this one?

Republicans are worried about the power of incumbency, and it is a real power. Presidents command the airwaves, as they used to say. If they want to make something the focus of national discussion, they usually can, at least for a while. And this president is always out there, talking. But—and forgive me, because what I’m about to say is rude—has anyone noticed how boring he is? Plonking platitude after plonking platitude. 

To see Mr. Obama on the stump is to see a man at the podium who’s constantly dribbling away the punch line. He looks pleasant but lacks joy; he’s cool but lacks vigor.

I listen to him closely and find myself daydreaming: This is the best-tailored president since JFK. His suits, shirts and ties are beautifully cut from fine material.

This is an elegant man. But I shouldn’t be thinking about that, I should be thinking about what a powerful case he’s making for his leadership. I’m not because he’s not.

He’s raised a lot of money, or so we keep reading. He has a sophisticated, wired, brilliant computer operation—they know how to mine Internet data and get the addresses of people who’ve never been reached by a campaign before, and how to approach them in a friendly and personal way. This is thought to be a secret weapon. I’m not so sure.

A while back I talked to a young man who was developing a wonderful thing for a website, a kind of constant live TV show with anyone anywhere able to join in and share opinions live, on the screen. But I thought: Why do you think people will say anything interesting or important?

This is the problem of the world now: Big mic, no message. If you have nothing to say, does it matter that you have endless venues in which to say it?

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/running_on_empty_furl6CRXj9dj3zVZfuXKSM#ixzz1tRPicmqc

Life in "Redville"

Things aren't always so rosy out here in the sticks.........

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says a portable methamphetamine lab exploded in a man’s pants as he tried to run away from a state trooper during a traffic stop.

Tulsa television station KOTV reports the incident happened shortly after midnight Friday in Okmulgee County. Authorities say the man tried to run away when the trooper asked him about a chemical smell.

Trooper Shiloh Hall says the man had an active meth lab in his pants that burst during a struggle with the trooper. The man was checked out by emergency personnel and booked in the Okmulgee County jail on a drug charge.

A portable meth lab is also known as a one-pot lab, where a smaller batch of the drug is manufactured.

More....

More bullying from the anti bullying crowd

This is just too rich..................

At issue was some progressive newcomers' inability to pony up the $1,000 they'd all agreed to contribute to publish the slate cards. Those will be going out soon to the roughly 23,000 "perfect women voters" in the city, meaning females who've voted in the past five city elections.

Apparently, Supervisor Malia Cohen told the cash-poor women they had to "pay to play," and attorney Kat Anderson accused them of sabotaging the entire effort. Then somebody accused Anderson of "living in the Marina," which is a fact, but apparently a mean one.

That's when Hene Kelly, a progressive stalwart and self-described "den mother" for the newcomers, told school board member Hydra Mendoza - who was trying to calm everybody down - to shut up and wagged her finger. Then, Kelly upturned her chair (she says that was out of sheer clumsiness) and stormed out of the room with the newcomers, Wendy Aragon and Kelly Dwyer.

"I just didn't want people to be shamed in there or to feel like second-class citizens," Kelly said. "What is this saying about women ... they can't help each other? It is breaking my heart."

Aragon said she's definitely not participating in the women's slate anymore.

"It turned into animal farm - it was even worse than watching men fight," she said. "It was mean girl bullying in that room - that's not why I'm here as a woman or here in politics."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/28/BA051O913H.DTL#ixzz1tRNi0Rnt

How 'bout dem green jobs?

I guess we can call them green for all the mold they're attracting; not for the money they're generating ...............

Obama’s push to nationalize many of California’s economy-stifling green policies has been slowed down, first by the Republican resurgence in 2010 and then by his reelection considerations. But California’s politicians, living in what’s become essentially a one-party state, have doubled down on green orthodoxy. As the president at least tries to cover his flank by claiming to support an “all-in” energy policy, California has simply refused to exploit much of its massive oil and gas resources.

Does this matter? Well, Texas has created 200,000 oil and gas jobs over the past decade; California has barely added 20,000. The state’s remaining energy producers have been slowing down as the regulatory environment becomes ever more hostile even as producers elsewhere, including in rustbelt states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, ramp up. The oil and gas jobs the Golden State political class shuns pay around $100,000 a year on average.

More......

Life in "Progress" State - Illinois edition

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently offered a stark assessment of the threat to his state's future that is posed by mounting pension and retiree health-care bills for government workers. Unless Illinois enacts reform quickly, he said, the costs of these programs will force taxes so high that, "You won't recruit a business, you won't recruit a family to live here."

We're likely to hear more such worries in coming years. That's because state and local governments across the country have accumulated several trillion dollars in unfunded retirement promises to public-sector workers, the costs of which will increasingly force taxes higher and crowd out other spending. Already businesses and residents are slowly starting to sit up and notice.

"Companies don't want to buy shares in a phenomenal tax burden that will unfold over the decades," the Chicago Tribune observed after Mr. Emanuel issued his warning on April 4. And neither will citizens.

Government retiree costs are likely to play an increasing role in the competition among states for business and people, because these liabilities are not evenly distributed. Some states have enormous retiree obligations that they will somehow have to pay; others have enacted significant reforms, or never made lofty promises to their workers in the first place. 

Indiana's debt for unfunded retiree health-care benefits, for example, amounts to just $81 per person. Neighboring Illinois's accumulated obligations for the same benefit average $3,399 per person. 

Seriously, ask yourself the following question. If you are a high income taxpayer, will you stick around for the pension Armageddon or will you simply pack your bags and leave the mess for those people who don't have the resources to pick up the tab?

More.....

Life in "Progress" State - California edition

Four million more people have left California for other states than have come here from other states in the past two decades, according to demographer Joel Kotkin. The population growth has been coming mainly from immigrants and births from people already living here, but now the USC study shows that immigrants are going elsewhere. A cynic might say that California’s liberal elites have ended the state’s contentious battles over illegal immigration by destroying opportunities here.

Kotkin, an old-time liberal, sees troubling trends. “Basically, if you don’t own a piece of Facebook or Google and you haven’t robbed a bank and don't have rich parents, then your chances of being able to buy a house or raise a family in the Bay Area or in most of coastal California is pretty weak,” he said in a recent Wall Street Journal interview. “The new regime wants to destroy the essential reason why people move to California in order to protect their own lifestyles.” He says the state is run for the benefit of the very rich, the very poor, and public employees.

This is not a healthy society. And the demographic changes point to an aging population. Far from reducing the burdens on the state government, this will increase them. State officials are not building to meet future needs, but they have been squandering future dollars on excessive pay and pension packages for public employees. Look for a coming battle between services for lower-income Californians and retirement benefits for the most powerful special interest group in the state, public employees.

There’s no chance the state’s most serious fiscal issues will be solved or even addressed soon. Earlier this month, Democratic Assembly leaders announced that they have no time to deal with the governor’s modest pension reform plan. They do have time to deal with hundreds of other bills, most of which range from the silly to the crazy. What’s the chance they will handle any of the other issues restricting California’s economy?

More......

CNN Host Gasps When Student Who Took Picture With Obama Refuses To Say S...

Jimmy Kimmel Hosts the 2012 White House Correspondents' Dinner

Dan Savage discusses bible at High School Journalism convention

Life in Obamatopia

Years ago, I had a friend in the car business who owned a car dealership. He told me that every car dealer in Ohio world was breaking one of, probably, several laws that pertain to car dealerships.

For the most part, the state turns a blind eye. But if you get cross with the profession and/or the state, the wrath of God will be coming down on you.

The same is probably true of my business. I'm sure that if every file from every firm were inspected for some violation, we would all be in  some sort of deep doo doo with the various compliance agencies.

That's how I feel about these dip shit regulations from the Labor Dept. try to move through............

Under pressure from farming advocates in rural communities, and following a report by The Daily Caller, the Obama administration withdrew a proposed rule Thursday that would have applied child labor laws to family farms.

Critics complained that the regulation would have drastically changed the extent to which children could work on farms owned by family members. The U.S. Department of Labor cited public outcry as the reason for withdrawing the rule.

“The decision to withdraw this rule — including provisions to define the ‘parental exemption’ — was made in response to thousands of comments expressing concerns about the effect of the proposed rules on small family-owned farms,” the Department said in a press release Thursday evening. “To be clear, this regulation will not be pursued for the duration of the Obama administration.”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/26/amid-nationwide-outcry-labor-dept-withdraws-farm-child-labor-rule/#ixzz1tGIGIYfM

Now just imagine that a very outspoken republican had a child who jumped on a tractor to go bale some hay. You don't think the feds would comedown on them like a ton of bricks?

If not, just watch the video of this dolt and tell me again..............

Life in "Progress" City - Portland edition

Gov. Kasich: "No" on new spending

Tom Carper: Save the US Postal Service with Wind Farms, Battery-Powered ...

From the party of racists, sexists, anti semites & .........homophobes

"If I wanted America to fail"

"If I wanted America to fail"

Life in "Progress" City - LA edition

When the nation’s second largest city teeters on the verge of bankruptcy, local elected officials – and especially taxpayers elsewhere – ought to take it as a wake-up call and ponder the evident public policy blunders that laid the groundwork for such an unnecessary scenario.

Los Angeles’ potential bankruptcy and $238 million budget shortfall were predictable and preventable. So predictable in fact that former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan warned of the looming crisis in a Wall Street Journal editorial in 2010. Now he says bankruptcy may be just a year away.

What underscores this municipal catastrophe is the undue influence of public employee unions on city expenditures, irresponsible decisions by elected leaders and unsustainable benefit structures practically germane to the government sector.

When reporting the projected budget gap for the 2012-13 fiscal year, L.A.’s chief administrative officer, Miguel Santana, noted that the budget shortfall is likely to be much greater – $427 million – by 2014-15, if drastic action is not taken.

Ominous as the projections are, they understate the forthcoming structural challenges in L.A.

A study released earlier this month by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research estimated that each of the city’s three independent pension funds are unfunded by billions of dollars: the City of Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System is $9.25 billion unfunded; the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System is $11.32 billion unfunded; and the City of Los Angeles Water and Power Employees’ Retirement System is $6.59 billion unfunded. To put the numbers in context, L.A.’s 2011-12 operating budget is $6.87 billion, according to the city.

More.......

The party of racists, sexists and anti semites

FOX; Obama refused to recover or destroy the drone

The Value of Our Pension and What's at Risk

Life in "Progress" City - Chicago edition

Residents of a Chicago condo whose building will be in the eye of the NATO storm are being warned that they should move out for the weekend ... or risk being trapped inside by rioters.

FOX Chicago News was first to report Friday that the people living in the 17-floor Library Tower building at 520 South State Street were warned in a letter from condo management that "we are STRONGLY recommending that all residents find places to stay during the conference from May 18 through May 21."

More............

Life in "Progress" State - California edition.

Nearly four million more people have left the Golden State in the last two decades than have come from other states. This is a sharp reversal from the 1980s, when 100,000 more Americans were settling in California each year than were leaving. According to Mr. Kotkin, most of those leaving are between the ages of 5 and 14 or 34 to 45. In other words, young families.

The scruffy-looking urban studies professor at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., has been studying and writing on demographic and geographic trends for 30 years. Part of California's dysfunction, he says, stems from state and local government restrictions on development. These policies have artificially limited housing supply and put a premium on real estate in coastal regions.

"Basically, if you don't own a piece of Facebook or Google and you haven't robbed a bank and don't have rich parents, then your chances of being able to buy a house or raise a family in the Bay Area or in most of coastal California is pretty weak," says Mr. Kotkin.

While many middle-class families have moved inland, those regions don't have the same allure or amenities as the coast. People might as well move to Nevada or Texas, where housing and everything else is cheaper and there's no income tax.

And things will only get worse in the coming years as Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and his green cadre implement their "smart growth" plans to cram the proletariat into high-density housing. "What I find reprehensible beyond belief is that the people pushing [high-density housing] themselves live in single-family homes and often drive very fancy cars, but want everyone else to live like my grandmother did in Brownsville in Brooklyn in the 1920s," Mr. Kotkin declares.

More...................

There goes John Galt

Who needs those rich people's stinking tax dollars anyway..........

Last year, almost 1,800 people followed Superman's lead, renouncing their U.S. citizenship or handing in their Green Cards. That's a record number since the Internal Revenue Service began publishing a list of those who renounced in 1998. It's also almost eight times more than the number of citizens who renounced in 2008, and more than the total for 2007, 2008 and 2009 combined.

But not everyone's motivations are as lofty as Superman's. Many say they parted ways with America for tax reasons.

The United States is one of the only countries to tax its citizens on income earned while they're living abroad. And just as Americans stateside must file tax returns each April - this year, the deadline is Tuesday - an estimated 6.3 million U.S. citizens living abroad brace for what they describe as an even tougher process of reporting their income and foreign accounts to the IRS. For them, the deadline is June.

The National Taxpayer Advocate's Office, part of the IRS, released a report in December that details the difficulties of filing taxes from overseas. It cites heavy paperwork, a lack of online filing options and a dearth of local and foreign-language resources.

More........

From 'Hope' to Hypocrisy: Excuses, Excuses

Obama adviser David Axelrod makes case for Mitt Romney for President

Test of Fire: Election 2012 (Official HD Version - Catholic)

Yet even more projection

I always found it hilarious that Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton were so big on "women's issues". I mean who else perpetrated more disrespect on women than those two.

Again, it gets back to the projection issue most of these liberals have (see previous post). Of course republicans must be holding back women because democrats are doing it big time.......

A former North Carolina Democratic Party staffer was sexually harassed by a party official, made a financial settlement with the party and signed a non-disclosure agreement to keep the incident quiet.

“If this hits the media, the Democratic Party, our candidates, and our credibility are doomed in this election,” reads one email exchange between state Democratic leaders.

An email chain between those Democratic leaders, obtained by The Daily Caller, indicates the executive director of the North Carolina Democratic Party, Jay Parmley, and the alleged sexual harassment victim both signed non-disclosure agreements.

Of course, the democrats are also supposedly big on "transparency" which probably explains the nondisclosure agreements.

More......

"Progressive" Projection is redundant

Last year, I read Eddie Trunk's book on heavy metal music. What I found of interest was the story about how Rob Halford was surprised that metal music fans didn't seem to care when he came out as gay.

This anecdote is a perfect illustration of how liberal projection works.

You see, it's not the metal music fans with the prejudices towards gays; they couldn't give a shit about who Rob Halford sleeps with. It was Rob Halford who held the prejudice of metal fans as knuckle dragging neanderthals.

From my psychology 101 classes, I believed we called it "projection".

Here's how Wiki spells it out..............

Psychological projection or projection bias is a psychological defense mechanism where a person subconsciously denies his or her own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, usually to other people. Thus, projection involves imagining or projecting the belief that others originate those feelings.^[1]

Seriously, in the past week, democrats have stepped in to the "projection" abyss big time.

Republicans have a "war on women" and yet it's the democrats who have a serious opinion about Ann Romney's "choice" to work at home and manage a family.

In the past week, it's democrats dropping Jew bags, kicking Asians out of DC, Calling Mormanism a cult derived from a child molester, and underpaying women on the presidential staff. It's not republicans.

And now we have Jay Thomas a liberal blowhard on Jews.................



It's like the guy who tried to paint me as a racist simply because I asked him why Detroit is such a dump when there hasn't been a republican in city government since the beginning of time.

I guess your average liberal mother never taught their children the lesson of "when you point a finger, there's three pointing back at you." But then again, they were "real women" so they were probably working "real" jobs and not wasting time with that whole child rearing thing.

"I am my brothers keeper"

A few weeks ago, The One blessed us with this platitude

“These are all fabrications that have been put out there in order to discourage people from meeting what I consider to be a core ethical and moral obligation: that is, that we look out for one another; that is, I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. And in the wealthiest nation in the world right now we are neglecting to live up to that call.”

But has anyone in the media called out The One for his generosity towards his family members, especially his half brothers and sisters in Kenya?

Now the POTUS and VOTUS have released their tax returns do you think anyone will challenge Joe Biden for the paltry 1.5% he donated to charity last year?

But give the guy credit. Someone must have whispered in his ear and said "giving $300 a year isn't good PR" because he did ratchet up his donations to $5,500 this year.

But don't forget this guy gets free room and board as well as a full security detail on his principle home in Delaware. If those items were taxable (which they would be for any other profession), his percentage would be even more paltry.

As a tax preparer I generally don't judge people on the charitable donations because many people support family members or family friends that don't count as a tax deduction.

But I have no problem calling bullshit on a president and vice-president who want to call me stingy because I'm not all that fired up about paying more taxes for our government to waste.

I just wonder when the liberal media types are going to call out these clowns for the hypocrites they are.

In Interview, Obama Pressed On Taking So Many Vacations While Americans ...

Obama and DNC advisor Hilary Rosen Attacks Ann Romney

The war on women continues.......from the democrats

Change of venue

As a result of some outside issues, we are changing the venue for the April 17th end of tax season celebration.

Instead of Willies in Kenwood we're heading back to Cindy's Friendly Tavern.

So join me after work and let me buy you some drinks. It's the least I can do for all those people who will be paying for my health insurance.

If you are subject to the Buffett rule, first, you would never be seen at Cindy's but if you do want to slum a little, drop by. I'll role play Barack Obama and tell you how much of scourge you are to human life.

Life in "Progress" City - Baltimore edition

Funny, last night there was a black teenager going door to door in our neighborhood soliciting for something. I'm going to guess that he was safer in my lilly white neighborhood than in Baltimore where this is the rule of the day..............

“He had every right to leave wherever he was and get back to where he wanted to be safely and this behavior is criminal. Not only was he relieved of his property after he was assaulted, but there were a lot of other things that were done to him that were disturbing to look at and we want to bring these people to justice,” said Baltimore City Police Det. Nicole Monroe.

The police report says his attackers stole his $1,300 watch, a $500 iPhone and an Audi car key worth $300.

“It’s awful, obviously, but you have to be careful on those days. You can’t be wandering around the streets,” said one resident.

Come visit our nice clean neighborhood in "Redville". I guarantee when you leave you'll still have your watch.

More......

POTUS Wants A Press Event - GSA

Lawrence O'Donnell goes off on Romney and Mormons

Let's add Mormons to the list of hatred displayed by democrats......

The party of racists, sexists and anti semites

Let's just look at the laundry list of racist acts & statements attributable to one political party

Asians

Former Washington DC Mayor, Marion Barry, is back in the news. He won a Democratic primary to seek re-election as a DC councilman last week and, in the middle of an incoherent victory speech, the 76-year old suddenly went a bit racist. “We've got to do something about these Asians coming in, opening up businesses – those dirty shops," he said. “They ought to go. I'll just say that right now, you know. But we need African-American businesspeople to be able to take their places, too.”

Barry has since apologised for his remarks, but not before confirming a general air of senility and superiority. He told the Washington Examiner that he was “one of the most successful elected officials in America,” and that he was doing “God’s work … I have made public service my ministry. God gave me a great brain, courage, charisma, vision and the kinds of things that make leaders.” Barry’s overlong, reckless career is a testament to the horribly broken state of local politics in DC. The city is a single party state that routinely neglects its constituents.

More.....

Latinos

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, obtained exclusively by The Daily Caller, a family member of George Zimmerman asked the nation’s top law enforcement officer why he has chosen to not arrest members of the New Black Panther Party for their rhetoric — some of which may fit the federal government’s definition of a hate crime — throughout the Trayvon Martin case.

The family member believes the reason Holder hasn’t made those arrests is because he, like the members of the New Black Panther Party, is black.

“I am writing you to ask you why, when the law of the land is crystal clear, is your office not arresting the New Black Panthers for hate crimes?” the family member wrote to Holder.

“The Zimmerman family is in hiding because of the threats that have been made against us, yet the DOJ has maintained an eerie silence on this matter. These threats are very public. If you haven’t been paying attention just do a Google search and you will find plenty. Since when can a group of people in the United States put a bounty on someone’s head, circulate Wanted posters publicly, and still be walking the streets?”

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Women

Even for Obama, who's both an avid golfer and staunch backer of women's rights, questions of gender equity have arisen. According to Mark Knoller of CBS News — who keeps close track of such matters — Obama has included women among his playing partners only twice in 93 rounds of golf since taking office.

More...


Jews

The staffers in Washington and Chicago, the sources said, viewed Wasserman Schultz's insistence, over a period of months, on the hire as a matter of the chairwoman putting her own politics and fundraising ahead of the interests of the re-election campaign on one of the most delicate areas of politics and policy, Obama's relationship with the Jewish community. They also worried that the daughter of a powerful donor could be a difficult fit in what was theoretically a junior role.

The Democratic sources described the episode as the latest in a series of tensions between Wasserman Schultz's own agenda, focused on her Florida political career and her own broad fundraising base, and the interests of the re-elect. It was also the most recent incident in which the chairwoman, who Democrats had hoped would be a capable and visible spokeswoman for the president, has instead proved a distraction.

The years-old photographs from Gilbert's Facebook page were reported by the conservative Washington Free Beacon" the same day her hiring was announced — sending Democrats again into damage control on Jewish issues. The photographs played to the worst stereotypes of Jews' role in Democratic Party politics, picturing them clutching dollar bills and referring to themselves as “Jewbags” and the “Jew cash money team.”

Gilbert was not, however, fired over the story, to the surprise of some of her new colleagues.

More.....

Or how about the lack of diversity within the Obama campaign............





Geez....... if you were to watch TV, you'd think these were all tea party highlights.

Modest Expectations From An Obama Supporter

I wonder when the mainstream media will hunt down old Peggy and find out how those mortgage payments and fill ups are coming along........

Delivering on a promise

Before The One was elected.............




After..................

For January 2012, the most recent month available, the average residential price was 11.43 cents per kilowatt hour, the average commercial price was 9.88 cents per kilowatt hour, and the average industrial price was 6.5 cents per kilowatt hour. The EIA noted that unseasonably warm weather reduced sales of electricity in many states.

The 2011 average price was 11.8 cents per hour for residential use, 10.32 cents for commercial, 6.89 for industrial. That set a record for the highest annual average for residential use electricity.

Rates have increased steadily in the past five to six years, even during the lengthy recession and a time of sluggish economic growth at best. Back in 2005, the average price was 9.45 cents per hour for residential use, 8.67 cents for commercial, 5.73 for industrial. That set a record for the highest annual average for residential use electricity. These price increases have come while demand has grown quite slowly; the EIA reports that from 2000 to 2009, increases in electricity demand averaged 0.5 percent per year.

USA Today noted in December: “Electric bills have skyrocketed in the last five years, a sharp reversal from a quarter-century when Americans enjoyed stable power bills even as they used more electricity. Households paid a record $1,419 on average for electricity in 2010, the fifth consecutive yearly increase above the inflation rate, a USA TODAY analysis of government data found. The jump has added about $300 a year to what households pay for electricity. That’s the largest sustained increase since a run-up in electricity prices during the 1970s.”

Obama 2012: From 'Hope' to Hypocrisy

Gender equity

Here's a free tax tip for you Ohio readers, it's is often more favorable for a married couple to file separate returns when both spouses work.

The joint filing credit the state offers to married individuals is a joke and does not nearly offset the marriage penalty residents pay when filing jointly.

With that said, while I was churning out tax returns on Easter Sunday, I decided to run a report off of my database to show the incomes of husbands and wives on my system.

Now for sure, this is not a true scientific sampling but I don't know what would make my client base an outlier to one.

So let's play a game. Give me the over under on how much more men make in my practice than women.

If you are to believe the leaders of the "masculist" movement, women make only 80 cents on the dollar male counterparts make.

So give me the over/under on the disparity?

I'll report the results on Thursday.

US Attorney General Eric Holder's Ballot to Vote Offered to Total Stranger

Life in "Progress" City - Baltimore edition

Life in "Progress" city - Chicago edition

A woman was killed and four men wounded in five separate shootings between 11:30 p.m. Friday and 4 a.m. Saturday. A 28-year-old woman standing on a second-floor balcony on the 4000 block of
South Albany Avenue in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the
Southwest Side was shot in the lower back about 11:55 p.m. by someone
standing on the street, police said. She was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.

A 26-year-old man was shot in the South Aus

tin neighborhood on the West Side about 4 a.m., Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Ron Gaines said. He was taken from the scene, on the 5900 block of West Superior Street, to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the thigh, Gaines said. He's in good condition.

About 2:20 a.m., a man was shot in the shoulder on the 4200 block of West 21st Street in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side. Police weren't able to say what happened there — only that the 21-year-old was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and is expected to recover from his wounds.

About 12:55 a.m. Saturday, an 18-year-old boy walked into Swedish Covenant Hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg, Gaines said. He told police he was shot in an alley behind the 4700 block of North Central Park Avenue in the Albany Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side. His girlfriend drove him to the hospital, police said.

About 11:30 Friday night, an 18-year-old man was shot on the 1100 block
of South Francisco Avenue in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side, police said. He was getting robbed by two armed men when someone down the block shot at all three, police said. Neither of the man's attackers were hit, but the victim was shot in the right foot and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition, police said.

How did all those George Zimmerman's end up in such a "progressive" city.

More......

Life in "Progress" state - Illinois edition

The state of Illinois admits to $83 billion in pension underfunding, a staggering weight on today's and tomorrow's taxpayers. Add to that the as yet uncalculated billions in unfunded pension obligations for city, county and other local governments. During a Tribune forum
Wednesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel explained how that overhang — some estimates run far higher — deters businesses from locating in Chicago: Companies don't want to buy shares in a phenomenal
tax burden that will unfold over decades.

One nice thing about pension obligations: When you know the number of employees and their ages, the actuarial estimates start falling into place. The mystery is the investment return a pension fund will earn over time.

That's what I find so interesting about the liberal hate on corporations. See, as corporations make money they do shitty things with those profits..........like putting money into pension plans.


More.......

Your tax dollars at work..................or not

Undercover Voter ID Investigation: You Will Never Guess Which Liberal Gr...

spring is here

You can talk equinox and all that stuff but spring truly does not begin in Cincinnati until The Opening Day parade and the first pitch. Unless it's a liberal hoisting the ball to the plate.

Judge Napolitano: I Think the President Is Dangerously Close to Totalita...

Same Tired Rhetoric

Same Tired Rhetoric

April 17th can't come fast enough

My annual end of tax season drunk fest will be Tuesday April 17th at Willie's in Kenwood (Galbraith Rd).

If you are a taxpaying individual, please come and let me buy you some drinks.

If you get a subsidy for any of the following

Housing
Food Stamps
Utilities
Earned Income Credit
Cell Phones
School Lunches

You are not welcome unless you want to stop by and say thank you to the rest of us.

Obama's civics experience

Apparently, Obama never got to the School House Rock on Judicial review

Life in "Progress" City - LA edition

Justice Grimaces As Obama Criticizes Court

Out of curiosity.

How many of the justices will remember this cheap shot from Obama's state of the union address while they are deciding his greatest achievement?

Let's pretend

“On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this can be solved, but it’s important for him to give me space. . . . This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.” — Barack Obama to Dmitry Medvedev, March 26

Just for giggles, imagine for a moment that Obama said this not to some Ruskie named Dmitry but to Eric Cantor to pass along to John Boehner.

What would be the odds that he could say something like this to a republican in lieu of our world rival?

I think I have a better chance of hitting the next 600 million dollar lottery.

Maybe Boehner and Cantor should defect to Russia and aim some cruise missiles at us if they want some cooperation from the administration.

Rep. Corrine Brown responds to embarrassing CNN interview

Life in "Progress" City - Detroit edition

It just keeps getting better for that "progressive" icon, Detroit...........................

The Detroit reverend who shouted that residents would “burn the city down” if the state approves an emergency financial oversight board defended himself and lobbed even more racial bombs during a radio appearance this week.

Rev. Malik Shabazz called the Charlie Langton Talk Radio 1270 morning show where he spent an entire hour discussing the disastrous state of Detroit. “The state of Michigan did that to us,” he said about the failing school system, at various times blaming banks, the state, and the suburbs for the city’s issues.

Michigan created a consent agreement that would put a nine-member financial oversight board in charge of the city’s books, forcing it to consolidate departments, potentially re-negotiate union contracts, give greater board oversight, find new streams of revenue and cut expenses.

The mayor and City Council are fighting the agreement proposed by Gov. Rick Snyder, though many have said enaction of the deal is imminent. Detroit has borrowed $600 million since 2005 to stay afloat. Under threat of bankruptcy this spring, the city borrowed another $137 million in bonds earlier this week.

Just keep doing what your doing, it works so well..............

More..............

What's fair?

Yesterday, I did a return for a client who had a W-2 for $996k in wages.

If you are a person who believes that the rich don't pay enough in taxes, please tell me what this douche bag should pay in taxes on this income.

I've thrown this out before but I'm also interested in a related question. Let's face it. If you believe that the rich don't pay enough you probably have some attitude towards what this asshole earned in the first place.

So tell me how much should he earn for his job in the first place?

I won't bother you with the details of his background, education and such because, frankly I don't know that much about his background. So I'll always assume that his income is a result of a willing employer offering and a willing employee accepting the deal.

But you won't need to know those details either because your sense of "fairness" exceeds your understanding of his employment relationship in the first place just like your sense of fairness on his tax liability exceeds our democratically produced tax code.

So tell me what this scourge on society should pay?

Remy: Health Care Mandates vs Pizza Toppings

Professor Warren: Wrong On Energy, Bad For Jobs

Biden: "We Want To Create What's Called A Global Minimum Tax"

Obama State Department Won't Say If Jerusalem Is The Capital Of Israel

Assurance Wireless

So you're poor and can't afford a cell phone? Don't you worry. Assurance cell phones will give you a freebie.

Except that it's not free, regular cell phone owners pay for it through a tax on the service they pay for.

You can thank me and my cell phone paying brethren any time.

Sh*t Bureaucrats Say

Who did she vote for? #1828

Meet unnamed FAU student.

Watch the video and tell me whether she voted for The Maverick or The One.

Justin at Medill Variety Show

Catch my nephew Justin playing his axe.

Go to about the five minute mark of the video.

Life in "Progress" City - New York edition

The city’s former traffic commissioner has a new plan to put tolls on East River bridges. But this proposal has some novel “selling points,” including a first-ever toll for cyclists.

Plan to toll the bridges have come and gone over the past few years, but the latest one by Sam Schwartz is starting to pick up steam, maybe because it goes after everyone.

“I’m trying to be equal opportunity pain throughout the region,” Schwartz said.

More....

Life in "Progress" City - Seattle edition

City officials say there's been a huge spike in the amount of human waste showing up in Seattle, and now neighbors and community groups are working to clean up those dirty streets, sidewalks and alleyways.

The numbers are as staggering as they are disgusting. Since 2007, clean-up calls for urine, vomit and fecal matter have jumped an astounding 130 percent in Pioneer Square alone.

Those numbers don't surprise Pioneer Square resident Anne Fennessy, who said she's fed up with the huge amount of human waste she sees in the alleys and streets.

Seriously, think about life if "progressives" ran the roost.

You'd have to power your homes with sun or wind.
You'd have to organic farm to provide for your needs
And you'd have to crap in the streets.

That doesn't sound all that "progressive" to me. It sounds like life in 1790.

More.....

Obamaville

Life in "Progress" City - Cincinnati edition

A 4-year-old child was shot in the leg - an unintended victim of a shooter who was aiming for someone else, police said.The shooting was reported around 7:20 p.m. in the 800 block of Blair Avenue.

The child was taken to Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The child is expected to recover, Cincinnati police said early Wednesday.

He suffered non-life threatening injuries and was kept for observation overnight at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

No arrests have been made.

More.....

Who benefits from the Keystone stoning

Well if you were to guess George Soros, you'd be wrong but how about another spokesperson for the administration, Warren Buffett............

Warren Buffett’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC is among U.S. and Canadian railroads that stand to benefit from the Obama administration’s decision to reject TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL oil pipeline permit.

With modest expansion, railroads can handle all new oil produced in western Canada through 2030, according to an analysis of the Keystone proposal by the U.S. State Department.

“Whatever people bring to us, we’re ready to haul,” Krista York-Wooley, a spokeswoman for Burlington Northern, a unit of Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), said in an interview. If Keystone XL “doesn’t happen, we’re here to haul.”

The State Department denied TransCanada a permit on Jan. 18, saying there was not enough time to study the proposal by Feb. 21, a deadline Congress imposed on President Barack Obama. Calgary-based TransCanada has said it intends to re-apply with a route that avoids an environmentally sensitive region of Nebraska, something the Obama administration encouraged.

It pays to know low people in high places........



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When green isn't so green

It cracks me up that your average Branch Gorevidian believes that stopping the Keystone pipeline construction is somehow better for the environment than filling a tanker half way across the world and delivering the oil to an American refinery.

Or, as it pertains, to haul Canadian oil south on rail cars............

On any given week, three to seven CP Rail trains laden with crude oil from the North Dakota Bakken field whisk across North America, bypassing the pipeline bottlenecks in mid-continent that are depressing oil prices and unaffected by the noise in Washington, D.C., that is holding back the Keystone XL pipeline.

It’s a roaring business. In 2009, when Calgary-based Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. started dabbling in crude oil transportation, it moved 500 of its black barrel-shaped cars out of the basin. Last year, its oil trains carried 13,000 cars and soon CP could be moving 70,000 cars or more a year out of the North Dakota Bakken tight-oil field alone.

With each tank car containing 650 barrels of oil, that’s 126,000 barrels a day — a significant pipeline on rail.

“We think that’s foreseeable in the not-too-distant future, and we think based on what we are doing now there is potential above that,” Tracy Robinson, CP’s energy and merchandise vice-president, said in an interview.

It’s not the pipeline on rail that some were envisioning some years ago, when Canada’s major railway companies, Montreal-based Canadian National Railway Co. and CP, started looking for ways to get a piece of the growing Alberta oil sands by offering alternative transportation.

Because, afterall, we all know that there has never been a railroad accident.

More.......

Forget John Galt, where's his 60 billion

Overseas. Where it will stay until the US revises it's corporate income tax code..............

Apple made an aggressive pitch for a corporate tax holiday Monday, stressing that it plans to keep more than $60 billion parked offshore until Congress makes it easier for companies to bring those profits home.

The warning from the nation’s most valuable company came as Apple announced it would pay a dividend to shareholders and buy back stock, moves that will cost about $45 billion over three years.

Who needs any of that cash?

More......

Life in "Progress" City - Detroit edition

It just keeps getting more "progressive" in Detroit............

Despite assurances from Clint Eastwood and Eminem, Detroit’s rebirth may be on hold, as the city is on a Greece-like track to run out of money before summer, and things are getting increasingly testy between the state’s Republican governor and the city’s Democratic mayor.

Although the automotive sector and some other parts of the city’s business picture have bounced back in recent years, Detroit city government finances are still on an unsustainable course, and the city does not have a viable fiscal plan to avoid running out of money in May.

Last week, the city rejected a proposed consent agreement that would have given a nine-member state-appointed oversight board a voice in city government and started a war of words with the state government, which has its own deadline set for next week.

Mayor Dave Bing said it would be “nuts” to think he would accept the oversight board. “When I did read it, I was appalled.” Mr. Bing and the City Council were expected to meet this week to come up with their own plan, though such efforts have failed in the past.

Well hey, you're doing such a good job, I can see how it would be an insult..........

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Life in "Progress" City - Chicago edition

Chicago’s police superintendent says the city is re-tooling its anti-gang strategy, following a particularly violent weekend during which several people, including a 6-year-old girl, were killed.

Garry McCarthy says the intelligence is there. It’s just a matter of getting the information to beat officers so they can anticipate a retaliatory gang shooting.

“We’re going to get our head around this thing and we’re going to turn it around is what it boils down to,” McCarthy told reporters on Monday. “If we were sitting here saying we don’t know what’s going on, we don’t know what to do, that would be a different situation. We know what’s going on. We’re putting pieces in place to make sure we can stem this tide.”

So far this year, there have been 94 murders in Chicago. There were 66 in the same period last year. There have been 408 shootings so far this year, compared to 296 in the same period in 2011.

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Vice President Joe Biden Gets Booed at St. Patrick's Day Parade in Pitts...