Chicago gun tax a “piece of the puzzle”

Cook County’s $25 Gun Tax Goes Into Effect

CBS Chicago: Gun sellers and owners haven’t been able to stop it, so a new $25-per-gun tax in Cook County went into effect on Monday.

WBBM Newsradio’s Nancy Harty reports the new gun tax is estimated to generate $600,000 a year for Cook County. The gun tax ordinance includes an exemption for law enforcement officers who purchase guns in the county.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle pushed the gun tax last fall, as part of her $3 billion budget plan. Surrounded by gun violence victims and religious leaders at a church in the Pilsen neighborhood, Preckwinkle touted the new gun tax on Monday, but acknowledged it’s not a silver bullet in the fight against gun violence. “I know this tax will not unilaterally solve the violence issue that we face in Chicago and Cook County, but it’s a piece of the puzzle,” she said.

Yolan Henry – whose daughter, Nova, and granddaughter, Ava, were shot and killed in 2009 – voiced her support for the new tax. “I am here today to speak for my daughter, Nova Henry; her daughter, Ava Safiyah Henry-Curry; and a multitude of other victims that have been killed previously, and afterwards,” she said.

Nova Henry, the ex-girlfriend of former Bulls player Eddy Curry, was killed in her South Loop townhouse in January 2009. Fredrick Goings, an attorney Nova Henry hired in a child support case against Curry, has been convicted of killing Nova and Ava when he learned Nova had hired another attorney, and was planning to contest $24,000 in legal fees charged by Goings.

Preckwinkle has said revenue from the firearm tax would help pay for the costs of treating gunshot victims at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, as well as for the costs for gun-related law enforcement and prosecutions.

Gun sellers and owners have sued Cook County over the tax plan, saying it violates residents’ Second Amendment rights. They noted in their lawsuit that supporters of the gun tax have said it should reduce the number of guns in circulation, a sign it would infringe on the right to bear arms.

Commissioner Edwin Reyes (D-8th) told the Sun-Times the county should consider repealing the tax if the cost of defending the lawsuit would be greater than the revenue the tax would bring in.

Preckwinkle was expected to tout the new tax at an event at a South Side church, alongside a number of victims of gun violence.

The county also has targeted straw purchasers – people who buy guns legally, then sell them to others who can’t – by imposing fines of up to $2,000 for failing to report the transfer, loss, or theft of a gun.

A tax for law-abiding gun owners to solve a “piece of the puzzle”? When will these people learn that criminals will never obey gun control laws.

While they tout this tax as helping to prevent gun violence, maybe they should take a look at the perps of gun violence. Gun control Chicago had more gun violence this weekend (as usual):

Two men were fatally shot and 21 others were wounded in gun violence across the city over the Easter weekend, including a father and his 12-year-old son who were shot as they got out of a vehicle.

And on top of the gun violence, hundreds of (black) teens attacked pedestrians in downtown Chicago. Cook County and Chicago officials needs to get a grip on the violence in their city, and a $25 tax on guns isn’t going to solve that problem.

DCG

How’s that gun control working in Chicago?

Not so well. As of Saturday afternoon, one person was killed and 11 were injured by gunfire.

1 killed, 11 wounded by gunfire since Friday

Chicago Tribune: A shooting in the Logan Square neighborhood left one man dead and another wounded Friday night as at least a dozen people were shot between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Just after 8 p.m., three people asked for directions from a 23-year-old man and a 44-year-old man walking in the 1800 block of North Francisco Avenue, Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Amina Greer said. Moments later, one of the three took out a gun and opened fire, striking the younger man in the chest, according to police.

The older man took off running and was shot in the hand as he tried to flee, Greer said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was treated and released. The younger man was found unresponsive and died on the scene, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The medical examiner’s office identified him as Eugenio Solano, of the 1700 block of North Francisco Avenue.

The assailants fled the scene on foot, and no suspects are in custody as Area North detectives investigate the shooting. Police said the shooting appeared to be gang-related.

About 2:30 a.m. Saturday, a 27-year-old man was shot in the chest in the 7300 block of South Honore Street in the West Englewood neighborhood.

The man was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, where he was listed in serious condition, Greer said.

Also Saturday morning, an 18-year-old woman was shot in the leg about 12:05 a.m. in the 3100 block of West Arthington Street. The woman was listed in stable condition, but no further details were  released. The shooting happened in the Lawndale neighborhood.

In other shootings since Friday afternoon:

• A 35-year-old man was shot in the head about 11:40 p.m. Friday while riding in a vehicle in the Park Manor neighborhood, police said.  After the shooting, which happened in the 300 block of East 69th Street, the man was taken to Stroger in serious but stable condition, Greer said.  The man had “observed an altercation” from inside the vehicle before hearing shots and feeling pain, Greer said.  Shortly after the shooting and several blocks away, police had used yellow tape to mark a crime scene surrounding a dark-colored sedan in the 6500 block of South State Street. A jacket lay on the ground on the passenger’s side of the car, which was being guarded by officers from several squad cars.  No suspects were in custody as Area Central detectives investigated.
• About 10:30 p.m. in the Longwood Manor neighborhood, a 41-year-old man was shot in the leg in an alley in the 100 block of West 95th Street. The man was taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. Although the victim told police he heard shots and felt pain, his wound appeared to be self-inflicted, police said.
• About 8:20 p.m. a man in his 20s was shot in the 5500 block of South Hoyne Avenue, O’Brien said. Police said the man was in good condition at the scene of the shooting, which happened in the West Englewood neighborhood.
• Also about 8:20 p.m., a group of males shouting gang slogans attacked another group of people walking down in the sidewalk in the 8200 block of South Houston Avenue in the South Chicago neighborhood, police said. One of the attackers shot a 23-year-old man in the buttocks, and the man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
  A 22-year-old man who had been walking with the 23-year-old sustained lacerations to the side of his mouth during the attack, and he was treated at South Shore Hospital.
• Just before 7 p.m., someone in a van shot a 22-year-old man standing on a street corner in the Lawndale neighborhood, police said. Following the shooting, which happened in the 4000 block of West 16th Street, the van fled the scene.

Also Friday, police shot and critically injured someone during a foot pursuit, and two men were critically injured in a shooting in the South shore neighborhood.

Chicago has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. How’s that working out for them?

Instead of trying to take away rights of legal gun owners, maybe government should focus on trying to understand why criminals don’t obey gun control laws.

DCG

And In Sports Today…..

The coach put together the perfect team for the Chicago Bears. The only thing missing was a good quarterback. He scouted all the colleges and even the Canadian and European Leagues, but he couldn’t find a ringer who could ensure a Super Bowl win.

One night, while watching CNN, he saw a war-zone scene in Afghanistan . In one corner of the background he spotted a young Afghan Muslim soldier with a truly incredible arm. He threw a hand grenade straight into a 15th story window 100 yds away.
He threw another grenade 75 yds away, right into a chimney.
Then he threw another one at a passing car – going 90 mph.
BULLSEYES. Every one of them.

“I’ve got to get this guy,” Coach said to himself. “He has the perfect arm.”
So, he brings him to the states and teaches him the great game of football, and, the Bears go on to win the Super Bowl.
The young Afghan is hailed as the great hero of football, and when the coach asks him what he wants, he only wants to call his mother.

“Mom,” he says into the phone, “I just won the Super Bowl!”

“I don’t want to talk to you,” the old Muslim woman says. “You are not my son.”

“I don’t think you understand, Mother,” the young man pleads. “I’ve won the greatest sporting event in the world. I’m here among thousands of adoring fans.”

“No, let me tell you!” his mother retorts. “At this very moment, there are gunshots all around us. The neighborhood is a pile of rubble. Your two brothers were beaten within an inch of their lives last week, and I have to keep your sister in the house so she doesn’t get raped.” The old lady pauses, and then tearfully says, “I will never forgive you for making us move to Chicago .”

~Steve~                                     H/T Reader Ken L.

Chicago voters keep electing mentally ill judge

The Chicago way…

Judge who shoved deputy found not guilty by reason of insanity

Chicago Tribune: A Democratic Party-backed judge who won re-election in November while facing battery charges was found not guilty Monday — by reason of insanity. The insanity verdict could aid the judge’s effort to return to the bench.

Not long after Judge Cynthia Brim was charged in March with misdemeanor battery for shoving a deputy outside the Daley Center, a panel of supervising judges effectively suspended her, banning Brim from the county’s courthouses without a police escort.

Bar associations have recommended since 2000 that Brim be tossed from her $182,000-a-year job, but voters have kept returning her to the bench. Experts have said Brim’s case highlights the difficulty of unseating a judge up for retention in Cook County.

On Monday, less than a year after the judge embarked on what attorneys described as a delusional journey across the city that ended with her in handcuffs, Brim sat at a wooden table marked “Defendant” on the 13th floor of the Daley Center for a highly unusual bench trial.

Testimony revealed that Brim has been hospitalized five times after suffering mental breakdowns in the 18 years since she was first elected. In 2004, Brim was carried off the bench at a suburban courthouse after she froze while addressing her courtroom before starting the day, standing mute until someone called paramedics, her attorney said.

Brim, 54, was diagnosed years ago with a bipolar type of schizoaffective disorder, which means she experiences delusions and hallucinations, psychiatrist Mathew Markos testified. The symptoms can be kept in check with medication, he testified.

Prosecutors argued that Brim was “criminally responsible” for her actions last spring as she had chosen once again to stop taking her medications. Her attorney said a psychiatrist had advised her to only take the drugs when she needed to. “She made the choice, despite numerous hospitalizations, to go off her medications,” Assistant State’s Attorney Maria Burnett said.

DuPage County Judge Liam Brennan — who was brought in to hear the case — said his verdict is separate from the larger question of Brim’s fitness to be a judge. The state’s Judicial Inquiry Board is investigating Brim for multiple alleged violations of the code of professional responsibility, an inquiry that could ultimately end with her removal from the bench, her attorney James Montgomery said. “This is not about the wisdom of allowing this defendant to serve as a judge,” Brennan said.

Legal expert Warren Wolfson, who spent 15 years as a trial judge, said the board will want to be sure that Brim is capable of performing her duties on the bench. The board would consider other incidents as well, including the disruption in her own courtroom. “The issue is whether she has the ability to perform her duties,” Wolfson said.

Brim’s November re-election campaign was backed by the Cook County Democratic Party as well as the Committee for Retention of Judges in Cook County, a campaign committee funded by judges. Judges need 60 percent of the vote to be retained; failing to meet that mark is rare.

On March 8, Brim was asked to leave the Markham courthouse after going on a tirade while presiding over traffic court, sources told the Tribune last year. The next day, she read a newspaper story about a Cook County judge who was using lots of sick leave and decided to complain to the judicial board, which disciplines judges, about what she viewed as an unfair story.

But she took the wrong bus and ended up on 47th Street, so she decided to make a “march for justice” up to the board’s Loop offices, Markos said. After walking more than 5 miles, she at some point went to her attorney’s building, but got off at the wrong floor and refused to leave a different attorney’s offices, Montgomery said. That attorney later filed a complaint with the Judicial Inquiry Board, he said.

Brim also went to the Daley Center. After standing in the lobby for about 15 minutes, she asked deputies if any keys had been left at the security station that day, officers testified. She then left with a set of keys and returned a few minutes later, throwing her own keys on the floor as a protest against the unjust judicial system, Montgomery said. Deputy Nicholas Leone testified that he noticed Brim’s set included special security keys for opening courtrooms and judge’s chambers in the building. “I wanted to know why a civilian had those keys,” Leone said.

Any wonder we’ve got Obama as our CIC? When you’ve got voters that continuously re-elect an unstable person, what can you expect? It’s the Chicago Way after all.

DCG

Now This Is a Tear Jerker

 

 

 

In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee, inspected the elephants foot, and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.

As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenage son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter could not help wondering if this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing, and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder.

The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn’t the same elephant.

 

~Steve~

 

 

 

Chicago criminals approve…

More 911 calls won’t get in-person response starting Sunday

Chicago Tribune: The Chicago Police Department hopes to free up the equivalent of 44 officers a day by no longer dispatching cops for certain crimes, like burglaries and car thefts in which the offender is no longer at the scene and no one is in immediate danger.

Police confirmed the change, which takes effect Sunday. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told aldermen last year he was considering a move in that direction.

The change is not related to plans by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and McCarthy to shift what they indicated was as many as 200 officers from administrative duties to beats so more officers can be assigned to teams that saturate crime hotspots, city spokesman Bill McCaffrey said.

The 911 dispatch changes and redeployment of officers come in the wake of the city’s most deadly January since 2002. A total of 42 people were murdered in Chicago last month, including 15-year-old band majorette Hadiya Pendleton, an innocent victim whose South Side slaying drew national attention.

Crimes that will no longer result in the dispatch of an officer to the crime scene include vehicle theft, theft, garage burglaries, criminal damage to property, the passing of bad checks, lewd or obscene phone calls, threatening phone calls that don’t pose an immediate danger and animal bites, McCaffrey said.

Officers will be dispatched if a suspect is still at the scene or is expected to return immediately, the victim is not considered safe or needs medical attention, an officer could make an immediate arrest or an officer is needed for an immediate investigation, McCaffrey added.

When no officer is sent to the crime scene, a report will be taken by phone by cops assigned to light duty. Last year, 74,000 reports were taken that way. The new rules are expected to more than double that number.

It’s hoped that the changes will free up the equivalent of 44 officers each day to respond to more serious crimes and work at crime prevention, McCaffrey said. Ald. Howard Brookins, 21st, said he thought the change will be good, “especially if it results in a quicker response time to more serious crimes when they are happening in real time.”

Brookins said he often hears from residents who complain that response is tardy or even non-existent when they call 911 to report drug sales, fights or burglaries in progress. He said he also hopes that it results in more officers on visible patrol, which he said serves as a deterrent to crime.

During budget hearings last year, McCarthy said dispatch changes needed to be made, saying officers in Chicago responded to half of 911 calls, compared to about 30 percent in most other jurisdictions.

“I’m not joking when I tell you that we’ve handled calls that say my children are fighting over the remote control,” McCarthy told aldermen. “My daughter does not want to go to school, my son does not want to eat his mashed potatoes.

“Those are the types of calls for service quite frankly where I don’t know why we would tie up a police officer when that officer can be on patrol doing something affirmative, preventing something from happening.”

Police officers contacted by the Tribune concur that not having to respond to every call could help cops on the street respond to more serious crimes. “It’s almost like you increase your manpower when you reduce the number of calls,” one police supervisor said.

But he gave an example of one potential drawback, in the case of a garage burglary, saying there could be a delay in the investigation if a detective doesn’t immediately canvass the area.

Still, said one rank-and-file officer, by not responding to all the less-serious crimes, cops on the street will be able to become more “proactive,” instead of running around the district and bouncing from call to call. “It’s really a drain on resources to go to every nonsense call like the dog’s barking or the music’s too loud,” the officer said.

So now citizens are expected to anticipate if a criminal will return to their home? What are they suppose to be, mind readers? If residents have any sense, they will arm themselves, despite their mayor’s call for more gun restrictions.

DCG

Black author explains why he did not vote for Obama

I am honored and delighted to introduce FOTM readers to a guest columnist today, Lavelle, the author of the book Dirty Laundry Coloreds and Whites (iUniverse, 2012).

Lavelle is a FOTM reader and commenter. Lavelle is also that very rare black American who did not vote for Barack Obama in either 2008 (4%) or 2012 (6%). In the essay to follow, Lavelle explains why. (His bio follows the essay)

~Eowyn

Why I did not vote for Barack Obama and do not believe that he is the first Black President of the United States.

By Lavelle

Let me start by saying that politically; I was not or am not your typical inner city Black American. My father was not a Democrat, although my mother was and the views and opinions that I heard in my home varied as far as politics and social issues were concerned. I am not a believer like so many black Americans that the Democratic Party is the party for black people. I consider the Democratic Party to be the slave-masters party, as southern plantation owners were majority Democrats.  I further believe that the Democratic Party keeps blacks at the bottom of the social and economic ladder by giving a majority of black’s excuses, and someone to blame for the social and economic ills that affect so many  in this country. Meanwhile those who preach this rhetoric prosper, while far too many blacks blame the Republicans for their problems.  In my community, most blacks think and are taught to believe  that only the Republican Party are for the rich and that only Democrats are for poor people. It’s this thought process that designate blacks to master’s party until death do us part. Politically, socially, and economically the black majority is still slaves, only it is a mental slavery, not physical. What a great leisure it must be for the Democratic Party that no matter how bad things are for many black families and black communities, at election time, rain, sleet or snow; the party can guarantee that the majority of the black race will vote Democratic.

I wasn’t one of those who felt history was being made when Barack Obama was elected President of the United States in 2008.  My thoughts were more in the line of; why now? And that the Democratic Party, with Barack Obama up front would make people believe that things would be better than the George W. Bush years. Especially black people, who constantly complained that Bush was a racist, and that it was his fault that people are poor, and losing their jobs and homes. I tried to warn people that the “Change” that was heard over and over again would not be the kind of changes that many expected. And that more than likely, the shit was going to hit the fan, and things would get much worse in this country.  Unemployment is still high, jobs are still being shipped overseas, and government wants more control of our lives. The end of don’t ask, don’t tell in the military, gay marriage, and immigration reform for illegal immigrants are issues at the forefront in Obama’s Presidency. But he tells the pitiful blacks, some who actually believed that Obama was a testament to Dr. King’s dream, that he can’t have a black agenda because he is the President of all of America, not just black America. It didn’t matter though, because in 2012 blacks once again came out in droves to vote for Obama’s re-election and once again Democrats have shown that they are the Master. While the black majority showed once again that they are slaves and victims as Mitt Romney stated.

I may be the only member of my family and only a handful of those in the community who did not vote for Obama in 2012. In 2008 I may have been the only one who didn’t vote for him. I was always taught that the President isn’t the person in charge, that big business and rich powerful white men control the office of the President, the entire country and world for that matter. But that for me is normal, and it’s not much that can be done about this fact. However, I can control who I am conned or deceived by. Therefore I will not be deceived by President Obama, the first lady Michelle Obama (I had hoped that she was real and not a phony), Eric Holder or Oprah, black public officials, or so called black leaders.  The truth of the matter is, most of our so called black leaders, especially the Democrats are merely gate-keeping individuals whose real intent is to maintain the status quo for the rich and powerful. The gate-keepers and status will most certainly change, but what about the rest of the people?  What will the black majority do, probably whatever the Democratic Party wants them to do? In the meantime, I will be waiting on the first black President.  Yes I know that the President is for all the people, not a particular group. But is President Obama gay? Is President Obama a Latino or illegal immigrant?  I know that the bullet riddled south side streets of Chicago and the young people there would love to hear from the First black President, you know, Chicago’s own Barack Obama. Don’t count on it or hold your breath though.

****

Lavelle was born and raised on the West Side of Chicago. He works as a broker and dispatcher for a company in Chicago owned by an accomplished black American. Lavelle has held an interest in politics and who the players were since the early 1980s. His family members and friends have held political seats on a local and state level, and have helped to shape his views on issues that relate to politics.

In his book Dirty Laundry Coloreds and Whites, Lavelle presents his personal view of race relations in the world and how these relations have affected both the black and white culture. Through a series of essays, Lavelle describes the current state of black culture, examines the elements that have caused the erosion of the black community, and describes what the future holds for black Americans. Dirty Laundry presents Lavelle’s thoughts on array of topics relevant to the black community: Race issues in the world Segregation versus integration Black social and cultural issues The role of the police and the justice system in the black world Parents and crime Athletes and sports While sharing his opinions and views, Lavelle suggests actions that can be taken that would improve the future for both black Americans and the United States as a whole.

Amazon offers a Kindle edition of Dirty Laundry Coloreds and Whites for only $3.99!

~Eowyn

The solution to gun violence? A tax, of course…

As Chicago reaches 500 homicides with fatal shootings this year, what do you think the County wants to do to decrease gun violence? Harsher punishment for criminals? Reach out to the youth with gun prevention programs? Try and get gang violence under control? Silly you, you aren’t thinking like a good little liberal…

Critics question aim of $25-per-gun tax in Chicago

Fox News: With gangland shootings becoming an every-day occurrence in Chicago, the  Board of Commissioners in surrounding Cook County is trying anew to tackle the  deadly problem — with another tax. But already, some are questioning whether the move is more about making a  statement than addressing the violence.

Under the new law, Cook County is charging an additional $25 tax on every  handgun sold inside county lines.

Gun shop owner Fred Lutger said this fee targets legal gun buyers, and not  the gangsters responsible for many of Chicago’s homicides. “They make it sound like it’s a tax but it’s actually a fight against the  Second Amendment, the right to bear arms,” he said.

The new tax was sold to the public with the idea that it would offset the  public cost of medical care for shooting victims. According to Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s own numbers, that cost was  just shy of $35 million. Yet the estimated revenue for the new tax will be roughly $600,000.

Still, the tax might not be just about the money. Laurence Msall, president  of The Civic Federation in Chicago, said “it’s clear that the motivation for the  tax is not revenue. It is it is more of a public policy issue in terms of trying to deter people  from buying firearms,” Msall said.

Opponents of the law, though, warn that the tax could backfire — by driving  buyers and even businesses out of Cook County. Preckwinkle said she would be “astonished” if businesses actually left Cook  over the tax. But County Commissioner Tim Schneider said: “I think we’re astonished many  times when businesses leave the county, but they do.“

Cook County has been down this road before. There is a tax on bottled water  — one of the highest sales taxes in the country. An increase in the cigarette  tax fell dramatically short of projected revenue because tobacco store owners  hoarded up the tax stamps before the increase went into effect.

The new fee in Cook County, though passed earlier in the year, comes as other  jurisdictions are examining ways to curb gun violence in the wake of the  Connecticut school shooting. While some have turned to taxes, others are calling  for bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. In Congress, Sen.  Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., plans to introduce such a bill at the federal level  during the next session.

Well this plan may certainly deter legal gun owners from purchasing another gun in Cook County. The criminals, not so much. Where there is a will, there is usually an underground (illegal) way for criminals to get what they want.

DCG

5 Big Reasons Why Romney Will Win

The polls say the race is tight, but what do they know? — especially given some polls’ oversampling of Democrats.

Here are 5 big reasons why we should be hopeful.

1. Independents are breaking for Mitt Romney. 

Michael Barone, senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, writes “most voters oppose Obama’s major policies and consider unsatisfactory the very sluggish economic recovery [...] Also, both national and target state polls show that independents, voters who don’t identify themselves as Democrats or Republicans, break for Romney. That might not matter if Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 39% to 32%, as they did in the 2008 exit poll. But just about every indicator suggests that Republicans are more enthusiastic about voting — and about their candidate — than they were in 2008, and Democrats are less so. That’s been apparent in early or absentee voting, in which Democrats trail their 2008 numbers in target states Virginia, Ohio, Iowa and Nevada.” Bottom line: Barone predicts an Electoral Vote win for Romney of 315 vs. Obama’s 223.

2. Democrats are behaving like people who think they are going to lose.

This is the thesis of former Democrat Kevin DuJan of HillBuzz, who writes: “Democrats know they are going to lose big. [...] It all started with Obama making the ‘You didn’t build that; somebody else made that happen’ statement in July [....] But, after his disastrous debate performance in Denver the election has really and truly been over for this man…and the only thing left to resolve is just how big a win Mitt Romney is going to have. Democrats are under no delusion that Obama can still win.” DuJan points to these behavioral indicators:

• A home has been purchased for the Obamas via a blind trust on the island of Oahu that will serve as the Obamas’ temporary residence beginning in January of 2013 until a grander, custom-built mansion can be completed for them in the next few years. Why on Earth have wealthy bankers bought a new home for the Obamas in Hawaii that will be occupied in January 2013 if these people think the Obamas will win?

• Obama’s “bright young thing” staffers are shopping their resumes and trying to land jobs in Chicago, New York, Philly, DC, or LA because they know they will be unemployed come January 2013.

• Aggressive fundraising (led by big Obama donor Penny Pritzker) is starting now, not years down the road, for the Barack Obama Center for Social Justice and presidential library which will constructed at the University of Hawaii near Honolulu.

• The Obama campaign has booked McCormick Place instead of Grant Park for his election night event in Chicago tomorrow. McCormick Place is an isolated and fortress-like facility that’s not conducive to large throngs of supporters assembling unwanted and is the polar opposite from the seat of Obama’s 2008 cult rally in the heart of Chicago that was designed to host a victorious crowd of many thousands. This is not the election night event of a candidate who thinks he has any chance in Hell of winning and is instead the plans for the Obama concession speech.

• Nancy Pelosi is preparing the terms of her retirement from Congress when previously she’d bragged that she’d be restored as Speaker of the House. This means she doesn’t believe she’ll regain control of the House and be Speaker after tomorrow. Although San Francisco will reelect her to another term in Congress, don’t expect her to serve it. There will be a special election to replace her next year and she’ll unceremoniously retire from Congress rather than accept marginalization to a position of irrelevance after having called the shots more or less for the last 10 years. If Democrats have given up on winning back the House then they have realized that Obama is not going to win reelection because if Obama won reelection they would also win the House. In DuJan’s words: “I do not see a scenario where Obama would win the election but Democrats would also not win the House; it’s actually not possible because the exact same factors needed for Obama to win reelection are the same ones at the state level that Democrats need to take back the House and reinstall Nancy Pelosi as Speaker (as she insisted would happen up until, oh, around the time of the Denver Presidential Debate).”

3. Big Businesses are behaving like Romney will win.

• Walt Disney World is already at work on a Mitt Romney figure for its Hall of Presidents. Kevin DuJan notes that “Disney didn’t make one this early for Dole in 1996 or for either Bush or Gore at this point in 2000 (and never bothered to start one for Kerry or John McCain, either).”

• TV executives are looking at Michelle Obama to host her own daytime television program. Former CNN president Jon Klein told TV Guide magazine Mooch would be snapped up by TV chiefs if her husband does not win a second term in office: “Daytime syndicators are desperate for a new voice and she is tailor made for it.”

4. There are cracks in Obama’s base among blacks.

Rebel Pundit of Breitbart.com: “Over the past few weeks we have begun to see the ultimate unraveling of support for the president, with women and youth fleeing from his side. But what is even more surprising and perhaps unimaginable to the president and his faithful media cult is that he is now also losing members of his normally deemed ‘untouchable’ base of support—poor, inner-city black Americans.”

5. There is no enthusiasm for Obama in Berkeley, the bastion of the Left.

I haven’t seen a single Obama 2012 bumpersticker or yard sign or dorm or apartment window sign in Berkeley, California.

In 2008, those signs were everywhere in this belly of the Progressive beast. Even in 2006, two years after John Kerry had lost the election to George W., Berkeley was still overrun with Kerry-Edwards stickers (who honestly can get excited about John Kerry)?

But this year, not a single Obama sticker or sign. I have seen one Obama bumpersticker — but it’s an old one, left over from 2008, and the owner of the car hasn’t bothered to slap a 2012 sticker over it.

For all these reasons, I am optimistic about tomorrow’s E-Day. But if wishes were horses, beggars would fly. We each need to do our share to make a Romney-Ryan win a reality:

• Vote!
• Make sure your like-minded family, friends, and neighbors vote!
• Give a ride to someone who needs transportation to the polling place.
• Be an informal poll watcher by taking a picture of anything suspicious with your cell phone camera.
• Pray. Pray. Pray. Pray with all your might and ask for God’s mercy, forgiveness, and intervention.

May God bless America.

~Eowyn

Chicago’s Black Citizens Lay It On the Line

Given the iron grip of Democratic control that made Chicago famous, it takes real courage for these people to speak out about their community and the Democratic Party.  Regarding the Democratic Party machine, the final speaker so eloquently expressed,

“It is more important, in this community, that they promote the liberal agenda than the black agenda.  What about the black family?  What about the American family?  I tell you that the liberal agenda is not the black agenda!  It is not the family agenda!  It is not the American agenda!”

Stinky old WordPress is not properly embedding videos lately.  Here is the link to the 4-1/2 minute video.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdTihf2_GGM

I’ll see if I can embed the video in a comment.

H/T  Breitbart and Hillbuzz