Moe Lane

Two stories from Drudge.

The first story should not worry you, overmuch.

On the streets of Oakland, budget cuts have made the beat cop a rare breed, and some of the city’s wealthy neighborhoods have turned to unarmed security guards to take their place.

Private security companies have been a staple of American upper-income enclaves for decades.  This is just a wider range than the usual gated community; it’s a sign that the economy’s rotten, but it’s not really worrisome.

This, on the other hand, is worrisome: (more…)

“IN-JUR-IES!”
“IN-JUR-IES!”
“IN-JUR-IES!”

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to politics and gun legislation.

His super PAC, Independence USA, is dropping more than $1 million in advertisement money against a Democratic candidate running in a special election to replace former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Chicago.

The candidate, former U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, has an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association and opposes proposals that call for a renewed ban on assault weapons similar to the one that expired in 2004.

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Could be, could be: “The White House is expected to name a new U.S. attorney for Chicago soon from among four finalists. Whoever it is will be an insider compared to the man he or she will replace, Patrick Fitzgerald.”  Basically, Fitzgerald is leaving the position after over ten years of putting governors (note plural) and other corrupt Illinois state officials (yes, I know, redundant) behind bars.  And it’s… interesting… that this tradition is not scheduled to continue: all four possible replacements are fully integrated into the Chicago power structure.  As ABC News noted, this is not likely to be accidental:

Appointing someone with Chicago ties may convey confidence that Chicago is no longer as corrupt as it was, said Gal Pissetzky, another Chicago attorney. He said it could signal a desire to shift focus away from corruption and on to other persistent Chicago crime, such as drug trafficking or gang-related murders.

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Now this is just dumb.

Five police officers were kicked out of a Denny’s restaurant for carrying their guns.

It happened in downstate Belleville.

Needless to say, the national chain is kind of freaking out over one of their soon-to-be-former manager’s decision to encourage off-duty police officers to eat their crime-preventing breakfasts/dinners elsewhere.  Because there’s a reason why Denny’s restaurants don’t get robbed more often, and it’s because criminals are generally smart enough to avoid the places where cops eat.

Sheesh.

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Do you know what the most terrifying thing is about this Politico article (“Blacks fret free-for-all for Jesse Jackson Jr. seat*”)?  It’s the very last paragraph:

“There’s going to be a lot of people running no matter what,” [soon-to-be former Democratic Congresswoman Debbie] Halvorson said. “This is the chance of a lifetime. Open seats don’t come along very often.”

‘Open seats don’t come along very often.’ Tremble for the Republic, my friends.  Not because she’s wrong, because she’s not: they don’t. (more…)

Nice to see that the ACLU isn’t completely useless:

The Supreme Court has rejected an Illinois prosecutor’s plea to allow enforcement of a law aimed at stopping people from recording police officers on the job.

The justices on Monday left in place a lower court ruling that found that the state’s anti-eavesdropping law violates free speech rights when used against people who tape law enforcement officers. The law sets out a maximum prison term of 15 years.

Here’s a really good, really useful rule of thumb for handling any Constitutional situation not explicitly spelled out in the document in question: if the question at hand is Would the Founders have trusted federal, state and/or local government to do X without some kind of oversight then the default answer is going to be The answer is going to not just be “No.”  It’s going to be “HELL, NO.” 

Idiot.

Moe Lane

Now that he’s resigned it… how’s about trying to, maybe, I don’t know: win it?

Hold on, hear me out.  Let’s jump back for a second to 2009.  You might remember that in 2009 Rahm Emanuel resigned his House seat (IL-05) in order to bungle being White House Chief of Staff.  Well, that caused a special election to trigger, and at the time I took the position that hey, how’s about trying to, maybe, I don’t know: win it?  …And I was told, quietly but firmly, no.  Folks didn’t like the candidate, didn’t like the idea of spending the money, didn’t want to contest the seat.  And that’s fine; but here’s the thing.  The Democrat who won (Mike Quigley) the primary was cordially hated by the rest of the Illinois Combine, and the general election he beat Rosanna Pulido, 30.6K to 10.6K.  Two years later, Quigley’s opponent David Ratowitz got 38.9 K votes in the 2010 general election.  Didn’t matter then, because Quigley got 108.3K votes… but it shows that there were in fact enough potential Republican voters in the IL-05 to win a low-turnout special election, if sufficiently motivated. (more…)

Oh, wait, that’s just going to be the reaction to this tacit admission that Illinois is running out of other people’s money:

Illinois legislators may try to limit the amount of raises granted to unionized state workers in their next contracts.

The House Revenue and Finance Committee began hearings Thursday on House Joint Resolution 45, which says the state will budget no more than a certain amount to pay wage increases connected to union contracts. The amount has not been determined.

The resolution also states that the size of the state workforce or a reduction in it shall not be part of collective bargaining.

Yeah, that should fly through the legislature without opposition. Or labor riots. Or widespread property damage.  And I am Marie of Roumania. (more…)

…and by ‘shoe’ I mean ‘plea deal:’

Just two days after being re-elected to Congress by his faithful 2nd CD constituents, sources close to the allegedly ill, struggling Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr now reveal to the Chicago Sun Times’ Michael Sneed that the congressman is pleading a deal with the feds.

I suppose that it’d be impolite for me to call the IL-02 voting public ‘idiots,’ so I won’t.  I do wonder what Democratic politician will be assigned to hold that land in fief now, though. Oh, well, I’m sure that it’ll be announced soon.

I mean, f’ing elections, how do they work?

Moe Lane

Foolish Democrats just re-elected Jackson. RT @illinoisreview: Jackson Jr sources reveal ongoing plea deal with feds bit.ly/Qr1jpX

— Fran Eaton (@FranEaton) November 8, 2012

It’s the ‘again’ that grates:

Federal prosecutors and FBI agents in Washington have launched a new criminal investigation of Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. involving alleged financial improprieties, including possible misuse of funds monitored by Congress, law enforcement sources tell NBC News.

The probe prompted lawyers for Jackson — who has been on a leave of absence from Congress since June for medical treatment — to meet with federal prosecutors this week in an attempt to persuade them not to bring charges against the congressman, sources said.

Says it all, huh?  Well, that and the sheer weary despair found in this headline: “Despite federal probe, mental illness, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. expected to be re-elected.”  Heck, the whole article at that link is not so much an article as it is a call for help.  Fortunately, there is actually an alternative: Brian Woodworth.  Because it’s becoming fairly clear that Jackson’s political career is over: why not have his replacement be chosen by, you know, an election or something?

Moe Lane

PS: We interviewed Brian a while back.

…What do you mean, “never?” Barack Obama can and will interfere in a local police incident; but he can’t be bothered to have an opinion about a teacher’s strike in his home town?

RT @morningmoneyben: @ryangop @mckaycoppins @samsteinhp indeed a dodge. What is the president’s position on the strike? Cc @benlabolt

— Ryan Williams (@RyanGOP) September 10, 2012

#Dodge RT @zekejmiller: Carney on Chicago teachers strike: “It’s our view that the sides in this…can and should work it out.”

— Ryan Williams (@RyanGOP) September 10, 2012

Cowards.

Well, troublesome for Barack Obama.

The Daily Caller reported on a poll today that gave a rather remarkable result: it showed Barack Obama ahead of Mitt Romney 49 to 37… in Cook County, Illinois: which of course includes the City of Chicago.  Being under 50% in what can be considered the ultimate Democratic stronghold is not good news for the President.  In 2008 Cook County went for Obama over McCain 67/32; in 2010 it went for Quinn over Brady 54/40… which helped make the difference from Obama’s blowout 62/37 win statewide in 2008, and Quinn’s squeaker 47/46 win in 2010.  Put another way: if this poll is accurate, Obama’s got trouble in Illinois.

Since this report has been making the rounds of the Internet, I thought that I’d look into it a bit.  It turns out the poll comes from McKeon & Associates, which has been polling in Illinois since at least the 1980s.  A quick call to Michael McKeon got me access to the poll itself, which I’ll be talking about after the fold.

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