Sun Times TIF Tip - Location, Location, Location! Affordable Housing

Allison Davis* is an old timey radical and lawyer who makes millions of dollars from government funded real estate opportunities, by dint of his earnest GOO-Goo associations. Several years ago, a little boy was crushed to death by a rusted gate in a property that the hand-wringers made available to his son Cullen. That was an affordable housing moment. It has been pretty quiet on that rusted gate story of late - news embargo, the Progressive Memory Hole.

Allison Davis, of the Judson Miner connection to the halcyon days of good government when Clarence McClain shooed folks in to the Mayor Harold Washington's beefy presence and Forrest Claypool was knocking the cow pies off of his Timberlands and Slim Coleman was ducking Eddie Vrdolyak, has been larding his jeans with bucks in high-minded but essentially filthy real estate deals. Another Faulknerian sentence!

Progressives seem to steal with jolly impugnity and have a compliant news media ready to parse their coin scoopings followed by news embargoes. Editorial Boards are composed of people who believe that the Easter Bunny, Ralph Martire and Spending Dollars I Don't Have are Economic First Principles - Here is Your Sun Times Editorial Board not asking Candidate Obama anything back in 2007-2008.




Section 8 Housing is made available for poor folks in neighborhoods where tax-payers ( black, white, Latino) attempt to eke out a living and send their children to Catholic, Lutheran, Dutch or Charter Schools. Wrightwood, a black working class neighborhood, formerly known as St. Thomas More Parish, was until very recently indistinguishable from white Beverly, Mount Greenwood and Morgan Park in terms of quality of life - good schools and no crime. The empirical fact known to all, but the people who occupy editorial boards and who could care less about the realities facing the shrinking Middle Class, is that Section 8 Housing brings a spike in crime (violent and property).

There is also a Federal Agency dedicated to Housing America's poor - Housing and Urban Development - that makes foreclosures available and hosts sites that make affordable housing a warm and welcoming experience! Click my post title.

TIFs has been a political strawdog for Progressives. TIFs are meant to spur economic development in areas where the poor are underserved.

Save the hand-wringing.

Until Section 8 Housing is featured in areas where diversity is embraced and never realized - areas where people actually watch WTTW.

July 6, 2010

For years, just a fraction of Chicago's fat TIF funds has gone toward affordable housing -- despite widespread demand and need.

And when you drill deeper into that nebulous term "affordable," only a fraction of that fraction has been spent on housing for the city's poorest, according to an analysis of TIF spending from 1995 to 2007 by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

An ordinance to help chip away at that imbalance will go before a City Council committee Wednesday for a possible vote.

It deserves the City Council's full support, though some adjustments are needed to make it more workable.

We heartily endorse the broad goals of this ordinance, which would dedicate 20 percent of annual TIF funds toward affordable housing, because it targets scarce public dollars where they are needed most. Less than 10 percent of TIF dollars now go to affordable housing, according to the coalition's analysis.

The ordinance also could help boost confidence in the city's maligned Tax Increment Financing program, one of Mayor Daley's main economic development tools. In the city's 159 TIF districts, the amount of property tax dollars that goes to schools, parks and other services is frozen. Then, as property values rise, the extra tax revenue collected is set aside in a separate account to finance other public and private ventures in the name of economic development.

TIFs frequently are criticized for siphoning money from schools and the like to subsidize questionable investments that get little oversight. With this ordinance, the public would at least know how a portion of TIF funds each year would be spent.

Still, some reporting requirements in the ordinance are too weak. Verifying family income for affordable housing eligibility -- crucial to the program's integrity -- shouldn't be left solely up to developers.

Under the proposed ordinance, 20 percent of TIF dollars would be dedicated to building or preserving affordable housing, including converting foreclosed properties into affordable housing. The annual requirement would be citywide, not 20 percent per TIF district.

For rental housing, half the apartments in each development would be for families earning 50 percent or less of the area median income, which is $38,000 a year for a family of four. Citywide, 40 percent of all affordable apartments would go for families earning even less, $23,000 a year.

While well intended, we fear requiring half the rental units to be affordable might discourage development. In the end, because of market forces, most of these projects will end up 100 percent affordable, rather than including a mix of incomes. This makes the projects more expensive, harder to finance and could produce projects that don't enhance property values in a TIF district, affordable housing developers tell us.

Targeting 30 percent of units for families making $38,000 makes more business sense. We'd also lower slightly the 40 percent target for the poorest families.

We strongly recommend changing the homeownership rules. Under the proposed ordinance, 50 percent of for-sale units in a development would be for families making less than $60,000 a year. Developers tell us few families in that income range can afford to buy and maintain a home. Plus, the restriction could make the entire development prohibitively expensive.

To improve the ordinance, we'd like to see the city commit not to overly concentrate affordable developments in challenged neighborhoods. Many TIF districts are no longer blighted and are in need of affordable housing to shelter families that would otherwise be priced out.

The ordinance, pushed by a coalition of housing advocates, community groups and labor, and backed by at least 19 aldermen, is on the right track. As swaths of the city have been devastated by foreclosure and other housing subsidies are stretched thin, Chicago needs a firm commitment to produce more affordable housing.

But it must be done carefully, so it enhances development rather than hampers it.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/2467316,CST-EDT-edit06.article
Save the hand-wringing, this sounds like prelude to a public screwing, by Allison Davis and other Cadillac Commies. Just saying.

*

Nota Bene! Sun Times Investigative Reporter - Tim Novak covered Allison Davis and Cullen Davis like quality wallpaper. In fact, this helot lamented the long absence of Tim Novak's powerful work over the last summer and fall. Here is a link to my references to Mr. Novak's great work ( amended 8:53 AM 6/17/2009). I apologize for this inadvertent slight of Chicago's most tenacious news pitbull.

The Law's Majesty

The Law is an Ass? Well, Eric Holder and a few other beauts ( G.Flint Taylor, Locke Bowman, Jon Loevy, Judge Dick Posner, the ACLU) diminish the Law's Majesty.

UPS - New Airport Luggage Box Alternatives - This is What Makes America Great!

Okay, There is a problem. Some people toss up their hands and whine. Americans fix the problem.

United Parcel Services (UPS) watched as airlines ratcheted up the costs of luggage for air travelers - Problem.

Some folks at UPS, Americans All, tackled the problem.

Only days after federal officials announced that the nation's airlines had collected 33% more revenue this year from checked luggage fees, UPS offered its alternative to the hassle and expense of lugging a suitcase through an airport.

The world's largest package delivery service announced last week that it was selling specially designed boxes that resemble suitcases. Passengers can ship the "luggage boxes" to their final destination to avoid the airlines' check-in lines and luggage fees.

The new UPS boxes include carrying handles and come in two sizes. The UPS announcement came a few days after the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that the nation's 10 largest airlines collected nearly $770 million in checked baggage fees in the first three months of the year, a 33% increase over the same period last year.

The new luggage boxes are also hitting the market as demand for airline seats begins to rebound from a two-year slump.

The International Air Transport Assn. announced that international airline traffic jumped nearly 12% in May from a year earlier, raising airline traffic numbers 1% above pre-recession levels.

UPS officials say they created the new boxes simply to make life easier for frustrated travelers.

"It's meant to be a convenience," said UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg.

She conceded that airlines can usually deliver luggage faster than UPS but said luggage shipped by UPS can cost $30 to $80 less per package, depending on the route and the weight of the box.

Rosenberg noted another advantage to the UPS luggage box: A tracking number lets passengers know its exact location.

That's something airlines don't offer.

Chicago Tribune


President Obama might want to get UPS on the horn ASAP - they seem to know how to fix a problem - and President Obama has more problems( Gulf Oil, Sky-Rocketing American Debt, Eric Holder, Jan Napolitano, Lady KaGa and the balance of the WH Insane Clown Posse) than Lindsey Lohan.

Well done

One Hundred Mother McAuley Students Named United States of America President's Award for Educational Excellence Scholars

Way to go Mighty Mac's! One Hundred (100) Mother McAuley High School students were named as Presidential Scholars this July 4th! School Choice is the Right Choice! Well done, Ladies!

July 4, 2010
Nearly 100 students at Mother McAuley High School in Chicago recently received the United States of America President's Award for Educational Excellence.
The President's Education Awards program recognizes academic success in the classroom. Since 1983, the President's Education Awards program has provided individual recognition from the President and the U.S. Secretary of Education to those students whose outstanding efforts have enabled them to meet challenging standards of excellence.
Local students who won the award include Katherine Murnane, Kaylie Adams, Mary Baker, Hanna Bowen, Sheila Burns, Jacqueline Capron, Katherine Cronin, Jamie Gronkowski, Ferran Harston, Kimberly Healy, Jacqueline Kleist, Meaghan McArdle, Killian McIlvain, Kerry Morris, Raquel Pappas, Melanie Patton, Kelsey Philippi, Molly Racky, Courtney Reed, Mary Claire Reynolds, Maura Sullivan, Paige Travis and Ellen Webb, all of Chicago's Beverly community.
Other honored students include Giselle Martinez, of Blue Island; Armi Cortes, of Bridgeview; Meghan Stewart and Amanda Terry, both of Burbank; Angelina Finn, Tara McQuillan, Meaghan Moran, Gina Sanchez and Margaret Shea, all of Evergreen Park; Kathleen Katsikeas and Sarah Oskielunas, both of Lemont; and Mary O'Donnell, of Midlothian.
Other students who received the United States of America President's Award for Educational Excellence include Ashley Bonnett, Meredith Brongiel, Shannon Coleman, Georgiana Fessett, Margaret Gannon, Natalie Gurgone, Molly Hodul, Sarah Mahoney, Anne Marie Kouba, April McMahon, Stephanie Quinn, Emily Rohan and Caileen Seguin, all of Mt. Greenwood.
Other honored students include Elizabeth Burbatt, Andrea DeMoss, Angelina Dennis, Ann Flanagan, Kara Fleherty, Carol Frigo, Natalie Gannon, Katelyn Hayes, Mary Kate Knightly, Colleen Krasich, Margaret I. Malone, Michelle Maslanka, Kimberly Murray, Emily Myren, Kirsten O'Brien, Margaret Omastiak, Ashling Pembroke, Lauren Polcyn, Jessica Rubio, Bridget Sheehy, Catherine Smith, Amanda Sorice and Colleen Sullivan, all of Oak Lawn.
Other local students honored include Bridget Balsam, Jamie Heavey, Erin Holland, Christine Johnson, Fiona Lane and Sarah Peiss, all of Orland Park; Christine Jakes and Helen Sweiss, both of Palos Heights; Christina Karczewski, Alicia Karczewski and Kelsey Vlamis, all of Palos Park; and Michelle Madaras, of Tinley Park.

NPR (National Public Relations) Shills for Abortion's Lady KaGa - The Kagan Whitewash on National Public Radio

I learned that Elena Kagan was an agent for Planned Parenthood's Partial Birth Abortion Initiative for many, many, many years. I popped into Keegan's Pub for a cool refreshing Soda Water and lime and heard Smash McKenna remark on the Elena Kagan hearings - 'You'd think that Lady KaGa was George Carlin listening to these mopes on MSNBC and NPR.' Lady KaGA? 'Yeah, Hick, This Kagan twist who likes to send babies to Heaven before they breath air,' Oh, that Lady KaGa!

After cooling the pipes, I headed to gas-up at BP on 103rd and I turned on tax-payer funded NPR the Pravda of Progressives. It was The Elena Kagan -Lady KaGA - Love fest!

NPR Learned that Elena Kagan -Abortion's Lady KaGa* - is really funny, likes Chinese food, and quiet walks with chickens like Arlen Specter.

NPR's hand picked cheer leading squad joined Neal Conan in Lady KaGa gushing-

David Savage, Supreme Court correspondent, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune
Gloria Browne-Marshall, associate professor, City University of New York
John McGinnis, professor, Northwestern University

Voila!

CONAN: This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. An NPR News special: excerpts from the confirmation hearing of President Obama's pick to join the Supreme Court. Republicans and Democrats alike acknowledge that Solicitor General Kagan is likely to be confirmed for the court. Senators expect to wrap up their questions for the nominee late today, before moving on to other panels of witnesses.

As we've heard, Solicitor General Kagan has been careful to avoid revealing many of her views on specific issues. Republican Jeff Sessions, among others, complain that Kagan's careful answers make it difficult to determine what kind of judge she may be. More of her words in a moment.

David Savage is with us. He covers the Supreme Court for the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. One the issues that has come up is executive power and when the witnesses have the right to be told of their Miranda rights in the context of terrorism investigations. There was an exchange with Senator Lindsey Graham, the Republican from South Carolina, when he asked the nominee about Christmas Day. She assumed that he meant the investigation of the alleged Christmas Day bomber. That wasn't quite where he was going.

Senator LINDSEY GRAHAM (Republican, South Carolina): I just asked you where you were at on Christmas.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Ms. KAGAN: You know, like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Sen. GRAHAM: Great answer.

CONAN: The lighter moments of the hearing, and David Savage, I guess a nominee has to be very careful, but in two very long days of answering questions, you can't help for your personality to come out.

Mr. SAVAGE: Yeah. Elena Kagan has a very sharp sense of humor. (Unintelligible) sometimes - it is careful, being in the Supreme Court, not to make too many jokes and put the justices on the spot. But she's very quick with the comebacks.

CONAN: Getting back to some of the more serious issues, Senator Jeff Sessions pressed Kagan again on another topic, this about, well, her approach. He was trying to get her a definition of whether she would be in accord with his idea of what an Obama nominee would be.

Ms. KAGAN: Senator Sessions, it's absolutely the case that I have served in two Democratic administrations, and I think...

Sen. SESSIONS: No, but I'm asking, do you agree with the characterization that you are a legal progressive?

Ms. KAGAN: Senator Sessions, I honestly don't know what that label means. I've worked in two Democratic administrations. Senator Graham suggested yesterday, and I think he's right, that you can tell something about me and my political views from that. But as I suggested to you, that my political views are one thing and...

Like all Americans I plan to celebrate 4th of July with a big plate full of spicy Moo Shu Pork from Jiang's Chinese Kitchen on 111th & Talman. Our next Supreme Court Justice has no problem with Partial Birth Abortions.

NPR gets my tax dollars and still manages to insult me and most other Americans 24/7.


* One guy says no to Lady KaGA

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) announced Friday he “cannot support” Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court because of her political views.

Hatch, a member of the Judiciary Committee, accused Kagan of endorsing an “activist judicial philosophy” and said he was “surprised when she encouraged us at the hearing simply to discard or ignore certain parts of her record.” He cited her position in the Clinton administration on partial-birth abortions and her role at Harvard Law School, where he said Kagan “blocked the access by military recruiters.”

“The law must control the judge; the judge must not control the law,” Hatch said in a statement. “I have concluded that, based on evidence rather than blind faith, General Kagan regrettably does not meet this standard.”

Hatch said Kagan’s two years of experience in “private legal practice” was not enough to make up for no experience as a judge; he said Supreme Court justices with no judicial experiences had an average of 21 years in private practice. “The fact that her experience is instead academic and political only magnifies my emphasis on judicial philosophy as the most important qualification for judicial service,” Hatch said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also announced they would oppose Kagan's nomination.

Good on you, Bub!

Motts Tonelli -All-American, The Bidwill Family Americans All and Stars and Stripes Forever!

I had the honor to meet saints and heroes, as well as hundreds of wonderful sinners in this life. One Saint was Brother Francis Rupert Finch, Irish Christian Brother, who dies while teaching kids chemistry at Leo High School - Brother Finch taught generations of men who went on to become great Americans. Brother Finch coached the 1945 National Champion Lightweight Basketball team. I also met Mott's Tonelli, Noter Dame All-American, Bataan DEath March survivor and Chicago Cardinal.

Charlie Bidwill, the Chicago Cardinal owner, made sure that this American Hero had his NFL pension and rights.

God Blesses America, because of the Americans he places among us!

The Bidwill Family always seemed to take the high road. When Notre Dame running great Mario 'Motts' Tonelli* returned to Chicago from the Japanese Death Camps from Bataan to Japan after being captured in the siege of Bataan, Charley Bidwill, though putting together a Million Dollar backfield, signed the skeletal Tonelli and had him carry the ball against the Green Bay Packers:


Slightly more than one in every three men captured on Bataan returned home. But few did so to recognition of their peculiar ordeal. In the flush of V-J Day, Americans yearned for their antebellum status quo. In just such a spirit Cardinals owner Charley Bidwill** asked Tonelli, home not even a month, to rejoin the team. It was a publicity stunt, but one in which all parties eagerly conspired. War hero Tonelli, The Chicago Sun declared, had been "nursed back to full strength and health." Tonelli played along. "My weight is back up to 183 pounds," he told the papers, though he weighed more like 140. He still had malaria. Since that day his wife, Mary, and his parents had met him at Chicago's Union Station, doctors had twice cut him open to treat his intestines.

Bidwill's gesture was well-intentioned, but football doesn't run on sentiment. Three days after signing in front of the cameras, Tonelli carried twice against the Packers in Green Bay, each time for no gain, and so ended his NFL career. The next morning's Chicago Tribune carried both news of the Cardinals' 33-14 loss and the headline WAR VETERANS RETURN AND GO HOUSE HUNTING.

For Jack Howard, W.Houlihan,Cyril O'Brien,Jim Corbett,Steve Swerdloff,Frank Wilson, Dick Prendergast, My Dad and All Marines - Semper Fi and Happy 4th

The words are impressive - the cadence is Sousa!

"Semper fidelis" is a fabulous Latin motto
meaning that in centuries of Roman might the soldier swore that he would fight
For Caesar, never questioning if he might return
or if the enemy when they attack could be driven aback — and that's what it means.
"We're ever faithful" is the general gist in countries that are Christian
Though it means almost the same we pledge no longer to the name
Of Caesar, but to principles of the land we know and love,
Bestowing the motto in war of our readiest corps — the mighty Marines.
Men are dutiful to things contradictory —
loving all that is beautiful — knowing battle and victory.
They expect our expressions benedictory,
and they find it perplexing and vexing and odd when we are shocked.
They've forgotten the old established verities,
seeking only for fame and gold, seeing only disparities.
Those who worship the one true God are rarities
who remember the Biblical saying that God will not be mocked!
When the call to the true believer comes from the Church of God
Will they all in their heart receive Him go where He bids them trod?
Will the men who appear deserving, who to their faith are true,
answer when they are called to serving, do what she bids them do?
For many men profess their loyalty to true democracy yet bow to mockery
and bend the knee to aristocracy, for to live their creed their need is small.
And may men proclaim their worthiness, display their lowliness, disclaim their earthiness.
Oh give us strength to seek true holiness, and in word and deed to heed the call!

Another Catholic Founding Father We Never Hear About - John Barry Father of the American Navy

Navy Man JFK honors the Founder of the US Navy John Barry-before Democrats had their historical memories erased by Progressives.

"He fought often and once bled in the cause of freedom, but his habits of War did not lessen in him the peaceful virtues which adorn private life." Dr. Benjamin Rush on Commodore John Barry


The Old Orwellian Memory Hole -the education tool developed by John Dewey for all public schools -is essential to Progressives.\

They have effectively erased all memory in the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and in all but Ward level Democrats.

Kids to day know all about Che, Castro, Cesar Chavez, WEB DuBois, Jane Addams, and Ted Kennedy.

Kids never read about Fremont, Carson, Shields, Mother Cabrini, or of the exploits Father Duffy ( Duffy Square in NYC) or Wild Bill Donovan - they were Catholics and wildly patriotic.

This week a did a refresher on Charles Carroll and here is another -John Barry the Father of the American Navy.

Barry's most renowned naval encounter occurred off the coast of Newfoundland on May 28, 1781. Barry's ship, the 36-gun frigate Alliance, took on two British ships, the sloop Atlanta, and the sloop, Trespassy. Barry's guns spoke first in the form of a well-directed broadside. Unfortunately, however, the Alliance soon lay becalmed in the water due to a lack of wind. The two smaller British ships were able to employ sweeps and maneuver close to the prow and stern of the Alliance. They thus were able to rake the Alliance from either end. Both ships inflicted considerable damage to the Alliance's rigs, spars, masts and sails due to her inability to make steerageway. Barry conducted a relentless defense from the quarterdeck until a hurtling projectile of canister shot (broken nails, metal fragments, and minnie balls) struck him in the left shoulder. He remained on deck bleeding from many wounds for twenty minutes, until, losing consciousness from loss of blood, he was escorted below deck to the cockpit for medical care by the ship's surgeon Kendall.

As the struggle increased in smoky intensity, the Alliance's colors (flag) were shot away. Barry's second in command, Lieutenant Hoysted Hacker, appeared before him as his wounds were being dressed and said, "I have to report the ship in frightful condition, Sir. The rigging is much cut, damage everywhere great, many men killed and wounded, and we labor under great disadvantage for want of wind. Have I permission to strike our colors?" Barry angrily replied, "No Sir, the thunder! If this ship cannot be fought without me, I will be brought on deck; to your duty, Sir." A new flag was raised using the mizzenbrail for a halyard, and the fight continued. Just as Hacker reached the deck, filled with renewed resolve, a bit of luck arrived in the presence of a gust of wind filling the Alliance's sails. Replying to her helm, the battered Alliance swung about. The whole starboard battery was employed with decisive effect. Fourteen 12-pound cannons were brought into the fray. After two successful broadsides, both the Atlanta and the Tresspassy struck their colors. The grueling battle had lasted nearly four hours and had cost the British two ships, 11 dead, including one of the two captains, and 25 wounded.

The surviving British commander, Captain Edwards, appeared on the deck of the Alliance for the customary surrender ceremony. He was led to Barry's cabin where the American commander's wounds had just been dressed. Edwards presented his sword. Barry received it, then returned it with the message, "I return it to you, Sir. You have merited it, and your King ought to give you a better ship. Here is my cabin, at your service. Use it as your own."

Barry prepared an official report of his double victory for the Board of Admiralty, which rejoiced in the success achieved. Barry's agent, John Brown, referred to the Board's reaction when he said, "Amidst their rejoicing it gives them pain to think that so Gallant and diligent an Officer should by a wound be prevented even for a Short time from rendering those Services which he hath always shown such an inclination and Ability to perform."

The Final Fight

Barry's final battle of the Revolution was also the last sea battle of the Continental Navy. On March 10, 1783, Barry was returning from Havana aboard the Alliance escorting the Duc de Lauzon, a transport carrying a shipment of 72,000 Spanish silver dollars destined for the Continental Congress. Off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Alliance fell in with the British frigate, the Sybil. In order to protect his escort and its precious bullion, Barry engaged the Sybil. A 45-minute exchange of gunfire ensued, with Barry directing his gun crews to superb results. The British vessel sheared off after experiencing severe punishment from the American crews who shattered her rigging, masts and hull.

After the War

After the War for Independence and the dissolution of the Continental Navy, Barry reentered the maritime trade. Between the years 1787-89, Barry helped to open commerce with China and the Orient while captaining the merchant ship, Asia. Patrick Hayes, his second wife Sally's nephew, accompanied Barry on his eventful journeys to the Orient where porcelain and ivory treasures were brought back and sold to Philadelphians hungering for luxurious items.

In the 1790s, under Washington's guidance, the Navy was revived as a permanent entity. Barbary Pirate depredations on American merchantmen had strained relations with America's old ally France and brought about this revival. On June 5, 1794, Secretary of War Henry Knox wrote Barry to inform him that on the day earlier, Barry had been selected senior Captain of the Federal Navy by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.


The epithet Father of the Navy first appeared with the publication of a biographical sketch in Nicholas Biddle's literary journal, Port Folio, in 1813.
The Father of the Navy

On February 22, 1797, President Washington called Barry to the President's Mansion at 190 High (Market) Street, to receive Commission Number One in the Navy which was dated June 4, 1794, the date of his original selection. The formal ceremony took place on Washington's birthday.

Barry outfitted and supervised the construction of the first frigates built under the Naval Act of March 27, 1794, including his own forty-four gun frigate the USS United States, which was to serve as his flagship. The United States slid into the water on May 10, 1797, under Barry's helm.

Commodore Barry

Barry held the courtesy title of Commodore from this period since he served as squadron commander of the fleet which assembled in the West India Sea. He commanded all American ships during the undeclared naval war with France (1798-1800) and personally captured several French merchantmen. Barry finished his active career as head squadron commander of the United States Naval Station in the West Indies at Guadaloupe (1798-1801). Perhaps most significantly he trained numerous future sea heroes who won fresh laurels in the War of 1812.

John Barry was so well-regarded during his lifetime that when President Jefferson retrenched the military establishment, Barry's services were retained.

Despite being so engaged with naval matters, Barry was active socially while on land. He was a member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Hibernian Fire Company, and the Order of the Cincinnati — the military brotherhood of officers of the Continental Army, Navy and Marines that General Henry Knox organized in 1783.

He also showed a philanthropic side. Early in his career as a young ship master, he joined the Charitable Captains of Ships Club, organized for the relief of widows and orphans of sailing men.

Champion of the Nascent Navy

Barry's contributions to the nascent navy were singular. He authored a Signal Book in 1780, which established a set of signals to be used for effective communication between ships voyaging in squadron formation. Barry also suggested the creation of a Department of the Navy with separate cabinet status from the Secretary of War. This was finally realized with the formation of the United States Department of the Navy in 1798. Barry's suggestions about establishing government-operated navy yards were also realized. So many of the heroes of the War of 1812 were trained under Barry's tutelage that he earned the sobriquet, "Father of the Navy."

The esteem in which Barry was held by his contemporaries can best be summarized by the words of his close friend and eulogist, Signer of the Declaration, Doctor Benjamin Rush, who wrote:

He fought often and once bled in the cause of freedom, but his habits of War did not lessen in him the peaceful virtues which adorn private life."
Barry's Death

Prematurely aged from an arduous life at sea, as can be evidenced by looking at an 1801 Gilbert Stuart portrait, Barry lived but 58 years. He died on September 12, 1803, at his country home "Strawberry Hill," some three miles north of Philadelphia, of a long-standing asthmatic affliction.
In placing Barry at the head of the Navy, George Washington stated he had special trust and confidence "in [Commodore Barry's] patriotism, valor, fidelity and abilities." Neither Washington, Barry's old friend, nor the Nation ever had reason to regret the selection of Barry as head of the Navy. Barry played a vital role in establishing the earliest traditions of the Navy: faithful devotion to duty, honoring the flag, and vigilant protection of the rights of the sovereign United States.

Barry's last day of active duty came on March 6, 1801, when he brought the USS United Statesinto port. He remained head of the Navy until his death on September 12, 1803, from the complications of asthma. On September 14, 1803, John Barry received his country's salute in a full military burial in Philadelphia's Old St. Mary's Churchyard. Such was the man, John Barry, a gallant mariner who served his Nation well and stood tall in the annals of American naval history.

Founding Father Charles Carroll v. President Barack Obama & Planned Parenthood

"There will always be people, many of goodwill, who do not share my view on the issue of choice. On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield." President Barack Obama -July 17, 2008


"Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time;
they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion,
whose morality is so sublime and pure
(and) which insures to the good eternal happiness,
are undermining the solid foundation of morals,
the best security for the duration of free governments." Maryland member of the Continental Congress, the only Roman Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence, US Senator for Maryland (1789-1792)

Yep, many of goodwill.

Chicago's Own Duke Tumatoe w.John Fogarty and George Thorogood!

Fabuleux Thorogood et la légende CCR John Fogerty qui s'essaie au pas de canard version Chuck Berry !!!

Not Chicago, But Better -Redneck Mothers - Pork & The Havana Ducks

Ever waited for your house to pull up next to your car? Ever had to feel the median line with the driver's side door open just a smidge to get home? These are your guys!

Chicago 4th of July - Linda Rondstadt Living in the USA

Back in the U.S.A.

written by Chuck Berry
© Arc Music Corp (BMI)

Oh well oh well I feel so good today
We just touched ground on an international runway
Jet-propelled back home from overseas to the USA

New York, Los Angeles
Oh how I yearn for you
Detroit, Chicago, Chattanooga, Baton Rouge
God I long to be at my home back in old St Lou

Did I miss the skyscrapers
Did I miss the long freeway
From the coast of California
To the shores of the Delaware Bay
You can bet your life I did
Till I got back to the USA

Looking hard for a drive-in
Searching for a corner cafe
Where hamburgers sizzle on an open grill night and day
Yeah, and the jukebox jumping with records back in the USA

I'm so glad I'm living in the USA
Yes I'm so glad I'm living in the USA
Anything you want we got it right here in the USA

Ah we're so glad we're living in the USA
Yes we're so glad we're living in the USA
Anything you want we got it right here in the USA

Ah we're so glad
We're so glad
Ah we're so glad
We're so glad

Friday Night Noise -Chicago Symphony Orchestra -Under Georg Solti!

I worked ( well, mostly. . . sometimes . . .when they could find me) at Orchestra Hall from 1969-1974 - on and off.

Victor Aitay CSO Violinist and Solti Concertmaster and all around good guy used to say that Solti was nuts in rehearsals and calm in performance. Bud Herseth, Frank Miller, Don Peck, Gordon Peters, Don Koss, Mary Sauer, Dale Clevenger and my old buddy Phil Scharff were my favorite musicians with CSO.

That Magyar was a Beaut!

A "Rowdy Taste of Chicago!" Tribune Editorial-ese: Stabbings, Tasings, Wholesome Good Fun!

YeeeHaaaawwww! Tayste A'SheeKawGo! Pardners, strap on on your cleets and buckle your chin straps, We Goin' to The Tayste!

Rowdy night at the Taste: 3 stabbed, 1 Tased

n what onlookers described as a rowdy night as the Taste of Chicago let out, three teenagers were stabbed downtown in two separate incidents, police said this morning. In addition, police said they had to use a stun gun to subdue a man who got into fight with them.


The most serious injury was to a 15-year-old boy who was stabbed in the back in the 200 block of South State Street about 9:25 p.m., said police News Affairs Officer Ron Gaines.

The teen was walking with friends when they encountered a group of fighting males, Gaines said.

The teen felt pain in his back and realized he had been stabbed, he said. The injury was described as serious but non-life threatening.

The teen, who was described by police as a known gang member, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, but large crowds leaving the Taste blocked the ambulance for a time. The boy was still hospitalized this morning.

About 15 minutes later, two boys, ages 14 and 15, who were leaving a McDonald's restaurant, also in the 200 block of South State, encountered what police described as a melee--perhaps the same one the other boy walked into--and tried to get away, said Police Officer Laura Kubiak.

Before they could, the 14-year-old was cut on his lower right arm and his 15-year-old companion received a two-inch laceration to his lower back.

The two boys ran to a Red Line station, where they hopped on an 'L' train and got off at the 79th Street station. Their parents took them to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, where they were treated and released, police said.

Some people attending the Taste reported other violence, which apparently brought out a large contingent of riot-clad police to the area.

Taja Jarrett, 20, was getting out of her retail job in the Loop at 8 p.m. when she said she first noticed large crowds in the area. She and Shanice Brown, 17, were planning to check out the Taste festivities when they saw a fight break out near one of the entrances.

The two walked west to Dearborn Street where they encountered another large brawl. They also saw an increased police presence, including officers on horses, ATVs, on foot and in cars. Dozens of helmeted on all-terrain vehicles ushered a large crowd west on Jackson Boulevard away from Grant Park.

In the Tasing incident, also nearby in the 300 block of South State, a 24-year-old South Side man was blocking traffic and refused officers' requests to move, said News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli. The man struggled with officers on the scene, and pushed one of them before being taken into custody. Marabelli said police Tasered the man when he continued to be unruly and began fighting with them.

The man was taken to Mercy Hospital where he was evaluated then turned over to police. He has been charged with resisting arrest and reckless conduct, both misdemeanors.

There was also a small fire at the food fest, with a transformer catching fire near the Art Institute of Chicago. The fire was quickly put out, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Joe Roccasalva. However, it apparently caused some small power outages in the area.


--David Elsner, Serena Maria Daniels and Liam Ford

Rowdy? As in a Charlie Daniels Fiddle Fest?

Well Torture has a whole new meaning - it's a derivative of Perjury.

Victims are people who strangle two women and two toddlers soak them in gasoline and ignite the corpses; get convicted; have ambulance chasing Commies like Flint Taylor and Locke Bowman as mouthpieces; howl long enough and get sprung from your guilt -that's a Victim, cooked up in Flint's Kitchen.

Makes sense.

Charles Carroll - Catholic Founding Father & Signer of Declaration of Independence

Catholics helped make America. There were not a whole hell of a lot of Catholics in the thirteen original colonies, except for Maryland. One Catholic, Charles Carroll of Carrolton, was a patriot and stuck his Fish-on-Friday neck out as far as Sam Adams, John Adams, Ben Franklin and the lads of Virginia. In fact, Charles Carroll signed the Declaration of Independence.

These days Catholics are under constant assault from Academics, politicians including supposed Catholics, and the hacks of secular media and Hollywood. The Catholic Church is rock solid in its defense of Life, Marriage, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Being alive precludes what secularist call Liberty or Libertine-ism and any man or woman who takes Life Vows of Love knows that the Liberty to do whatever one feels like doing is not in the cards.

Yesterday, I posted a beautifully written essay by Emmy/Tony Award winning actor and jazz musician Michael Moriarty. Mr. Moriarty said this,

All is politics these days … and all will be used to further the political game.
However, considering the Catholic Church’s major hand in overturning the Polish Communist State, the “game” is decidedly beyond politics.
The increasingly deadly Game has been a not-so-Cold War for quite some time.
Unfortunately, it is now not only Catholics versus Communists.
It is the Catholic Church versus the entire Progressive New World Order.
Versus the European Union’s Socialism.
Versus Russia’s neo-Soviet allegiance with Red China.
It is basically the Catholic Church versus the World.
Not even America is an ally of either Israel or the Catholic Church.
America is no longer, as the President has repeatedly declared by word and deed, a Judeo-Christian Civilization.
It is clearly and merely a part of the Progressive New World Order.

Catholics in America are being tested. Too many are failing that test handsomely and going along to get along - University of Notre Dame parse to weasel acceptance of abortion from our President who is abortions best friend; politicians Senators Kerry, Durbin, Dodd and Congressmen Pelosi, Stupak and Kennedy all play ball in Planned Parenthood's yard. If Catholics abandon their beliefs - life begins at conception and marriage is a sacrament between a Man and a Woman for Life -they will be praised and petted. If not, Catholics are bludgeoned as pedophile co-conspirators and worse.

That does not seem to be Original Intent of the Founding Fathers. Let's celebrate one -Charles Carroll!

"Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time;
they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion,
whose morality is so sublime and pure
(and) which insures to the good eternal happiness,
are undermining the solid foundation of morals,
the best security for the duration of free governments." Maryland member of the Continental Congress, the only Roman Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence, US Senator for Maryland (1789-1792)

Now, that seems like Original Intent.


“To what purpose was the threat thrown out of enforcing the penal statutes [against Catholics]
by proclamation? Why am I told that my conduct is very inconsistent with the situation of one
who owes even the toleration he enjoys to the favor of government? If by instilling prejudices
into the Governor, and by every mean and wicked artifice, you can rouse the popular resentment
against certain religionists, and thus bring on a persecution of them, it will then be known
whether the toleration I enjoy be due to the favor of government or not….”

Mr. Carroll you nailed it and you never once heard MSNBC! Happy Fourth of July, America!

Born: September 19, 1737 in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County1
Father: Charles Carroll2
Mother: Elizabeth (Brooke) Carroll3
Education: attended Academy of Jesuits at Bohemia Manor, Cecil County, 1747; College of St. Omer, France, 1749-53; College of French Jesuits, Rheims, France, 1754; College of Louis-le-Grand, paris, France, 1755-57; studied law in Bourges, Paris, and London, 1757-644
Religious Affiliation: Catholic5
Marriage: June 5, 1768 to Mary (Molly) Darnall6
Children: Elizabeth, Mary, Louisa Rachel, Charles, Anne Brooke, Catherine, Elizabeth7
Private Occupations:
Planter; managed his estate "Doughoregan"
Subscriber, Potomac Company, ca. 1772
Partner, Baltimore Ironworks Company
Proprietor, Susquehanna Canal, 1783
Member, Board of Directors, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company
Landlord; money lender8
Public Service:
Conventions, Anne Arundel County, 1774-76
Maryland Senate, Western Shore, 1777-1800; Maryland Senate President 1783
Committee of Correspondence, 1774
1st Council of Safety, Western Shore, 1775
Committee of Observations, Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, 1774-75
Delegate, Continental Congress, 1776, 1777-1778, 1780
Signer, Declaration of Independence, 1776
U.S. Senator, 1st, 2nd Congresses, 1789-92
Common Councilman, Annapolis, 1780-83, 1785 (resigned)9
Died: November 14, 1832 in Baltimore10
Buried: Doughoregan Manor, Anne Arundel (now Howard) County11

1774 – became a member of the Committee of Correspondence for Anne Arundel and
Annapolis (November)
1774 – elected to the 2nd Maryland Convention
1775 – served on the Maryland Committee of Correspondence and Council of Safety
(summer)
1776 – participated in a Continental Congress mission seeking Canada’s support for the
American cause (February)
1776 – chosen as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress (June)
1776 – signed the Declaration of Independence document (August)
1776 – appointed as a delegate to the convention to write Maryland’s first State Constitution
and Declaration of Rights
1776 – elected member of the first Maryland Senate
1777 – appointed delegate to Congress
1783 – elected President of the Maryland Senate
1789 – served as one of Maryland’s first two U.S. Senators

When his turn came to sign the document on that hot August day in Philadelphia in 1776, Charles Carroll stepped forward briskly, signed Charles Carroll, started back to his seat and then abruptly returned to the document and, picking up the quill pen again, added of Carrollton.

Like his fellow delegates to the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, signing his name to the document was an act of courage. Today, we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence as the beginning of our country as an independent nation. But, if the fortunes of war had gone the other way and George Washington and his ill equipped Continental Army had lost, this document would have been a death warrant for Charles Carroll and the other fifty-five delegates who joined him in signing.

God Bless Michael Moriarty! God Bless America!

http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mmoriarty/2010/06/30/catholics-vs-communists/

ELIN NORDEGREN NEE WOODS - Fellas, Start Writing Them Essays -"Why I'd be a great Hubby and Step-Dad!"

A pal said: "Elin is desperate to protect the children from the womanising side of their father.

"Tiger's main fear is her telling her story after he's rebuilt his reputation, sending him back to the gutter."

Tiger and ELIN NORDEGREN are quits and ELIN NORDEGREN is getting $770 Million Buckeens Plus. Not only is this Swedish Meatball easy on the eyes, but she comes pre-loaded.

It would behoove you ardent swains and horny swines to gussy-up your prose and poesy and begin to lay siege on Fortess ELIN NORDEGREN.

As I am already fabulously wealthy in love, dating the delicate, dark haired diminutive jazz warbling nightingale Ms. Sullivan, I place no interest in ELIN NORDEGREN -amorous or financial -whatsoever. Nevertheless, I believe that ELIN NORDEGREN would do well to chart her future nuptial path well off the Trails worn by false tickling Celebrity.

Regular guys. Rock-ribbed patriotic Homeboys! Flinty Eyed Tradesmen and Soft-eyed Baby Saps! Wholesome Yeomen! That's the Man Meat for ELIN NORDEGREN!

That is what ELIN NORDEGREN and her abandoned bairns chiefly need - a real man -one who sweats when he eats and eats when he sweats.

Gents, write this essay -

Why I would make a Superior Husband and Lifemate for ELIN NORDEGREN ( 250 words, simple font, standard English, Active Voice only, must be Notarized)

Dear ELIN NORDEGREN,









Most Sincerely,



__________________________________ (Your Name)



I swear that every word presented above is true, sworn before me on this date.

____ in the Month of ____________ 2010

__________________________________ ( Notary Public)








_________________________________( Seal of Notary Public

Catholics v. Communists - Abortion is the Da Vinci Key: Brilliant Essay By Michael Moriarty

I guarantee you, if the Catholic Church condones abortion, we won’t hear any complaints about priests and child abuse in the mainstream press, not while the Obama’s public schools are handing out condoms to five year olds without parental consent. Michael Moriarty - Big Hollywood

Opposition to Abortion is the key to the riddle of Hegalian Progressive -Communist/Progressive World War on the Catholics. Emmy and Tony Award-winning Actor, musician and journalist Michael Moriarty presents a brilliant essay. Click my post title for the full text.

It is basically the Catholic Church versus the World.

Not even America is an ally of either Israel or the Catholic Church.

America is no longer, as the President has repeatedly declared by word and deed, a Judeo-Christian Civilization.

It is clearly and merely a part of the Progressive New World Order.

As I’ve said before, America gave up any substantive resistance to the very Marxist New World Order when her Supreme Court passed the Roe v Wade decision 37 years ago.

In Europe, however, the Catholic Church has refused to condone abortion or euthanasia.

America’s collapse to the first stage of Communism, which is Socialism, was insured when the Nixon/Kissinger Presidency not only collapsed before Vietnamese Communists in Paris but when its Supreme Court – bipartisan, mind you – instituted legalized abortion.

America not only gave up the territorial fight, it surrendered in the spiritual war as well.

Kristen McQueary Missed One "Huge" Issue in Choice to Replace Rep. Kevin Joyce

Kristen McQueary is one of the very few columnist in this City who actually checks her ego at the door and brings in arm-loads of facts in her reports.

Like Sun Times reporters Mark Konkol, Natasha Korecki, Lisa Donovan and the great investigative bull-dog Tim Novak, Kristen McQueary presents what actually happens.

Today's column on the candidates forum to replace the irreplaceable Representative Kevin Joyce (D) of 35th House District is very good and wonderfully insightful. The only people who publicly proclaim that they have the inside dope on 19th Ward politics are the good folks who continue to chase ice cream trucks decades after it seems no long mete. Understanding that, Kristen McQueary presents "the situation," which is tighter than a New Jersey Ginzo's belly.

. . . A second batch of hopefuls stood nervously at a podium Wednesday night at Green Hills Public Library in Palos Hills during the second round of public interviews to replace Joyce, who recently withdrew his candidacy for the 35th House District seat.

They spoke to a committee of mayors, labor leaders and Democratic Party activists, including Chicago Ald. Ginger Rugai (19th) and Palos Hills Mayor Jerry Bennett, who will offer advice on which candidate is best suited to serve in the House.

But ultimately the decision rests with 19th Ward Democratic committeeman Matt O'Shea, who carries the heaviest weighted vote by law. Wearing a suit and tie and sitting in the farthest seat to the back of the room, O'Shea took notes and watched.

The list of would-be candidates includes: Chicago residents Bill Cunningham, Michael Cullen, John Presta, Thomas Condon, David Ladd, Connie Mixon, Richard Moran, Sheila Pacholski, John O'Brien, Thomas Carroll, Edward Smith, Maureen Kelly, John Fitzpatrick, Patrick O'Donnell, Randy Ashley and Kevin Butler and suburban residents Kent Oliven, Jerry Mulvihill, Ed Guzdziol, James Gierach, Addison Woodward, Ann Contorno and Robert Maloney. They are lawyers, accountants, small-business owners, a single mother, teachers and a recent college graduate.

I'm putting my chips on Cunningham, although several other strong candidates will make O'Shea's decision difficult, including Cullen, who has ties to House Speaker Michael Madigan, and Kelly, a Saint Xavier University official with political prowess.

Cunningham took an indefinite unpaid leave of absence from Gov. Pat Quinn's office last week, a signal of his confidence, although he said he would likely return to Quinn's staff if unsuccessful in winning the House seat.

"I talked it over with (Quinn) and his staff and we thought there was too much potential for conflicts of interest," he said of taking an unpaid leave. "During the course of this process, I am taking public positions on issues, and I didn't want to cause confusion over whether I was taking a position of my own or the governor's."

Cunningham started the job as Quinn's chief spokesman only days before Joyce announced his departure. He had previously expressed an interest in the seat if Joyce left. For a decade before that, Cunningham worked under Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan and was chief of staff to Sheriff Tom Dart.

He would take a dramatic pay cut as state representative, a job he said he would approach as a full-time post. He could earn as much as $75,000 in the House compared to six figures under Quinn.

As a newspaper columnist who consistently advocates transparency in government, kudos to the interview process and especially to the folks who had the guts to put their name in. It's not easy to toss yourself into the gauntlet.

"For too long, Illinois has lacked the integrity to face its financial problems," Mixon told the committee. "The day of reckoning has come for the state of Illinois. Citizens are tired of the same politicians playing the same game. I plan to bring integrity to Springfield."

Cullen, who spent the last seven legislative sessions in Springfield through his work on the Illinois Commerce Commission, said he would not face a "learning curve. I'll be able to deliver right away for the 35th District."

Presta - a Beverly area political activist, author and former bookstore owner - called on the committee to choose someone who is not "an insider."

But let's face facts. This is politics, and it's an insider's game. O'Shea will pick a 19th Ward resident who will deliver for the district - someone who will be friendly to labor, considerate in protecting jobs and helpful in raising money. He wants someone trusted and loyal. A known commodity. That limits the pool considerably.

The questions posed to candidates Tuesday and Wednesday night were interesting but mostly for show. Candidates stood at the podium, gave three-minute presentations and took four standard, softball questions from committee members, including: "If you are not selected by this committee, will you support the Democratic nominee in November?"

Cunningham, 42, a lifelong Beverly resident, breezed through the questions which, frankly, seemed catered to allow him to showcase his experience working with local officials and the Legislature.

Will he get the nod and face Republican Barbara Bellar, an attorney and physician, this fall? Stay tuned.

One detail is missing - the Pro Life-Anti-Abortion stand of the candidate who will get Kevin Joyce's endorsement. That is a condition the candidate who plays the Dick Durbin-I-Am-Personally Opposed-to Abortion Horse manure. Only a genuine Anti-Abortion Pro Life Democrat will get Kevin Joyce's endorsement. That conviction on abortion is the meal ticket.

Whoever, expects to replace the multi-Legislator of of the Year Kevin Joyce had better have the courage of that good man's convictions.

Great job Kevin! Good work Kristen McQueary!

The Men of Leo High School Thank Chicago Police District 6

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
by the Divine Power of God -
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen and twice on a Good Day.

The other morning, one of the incoming freshmen taking the Leo High School Summer Immersion classes that prepares the students for Catholic education and Leo Traditions of courage and commitment was attacked by three thugs.

6Th District Commander Eddie Johnson, Officer Armstrong and Detectives Slaughter and Hills (Leo '99) of the 6th Police District (Gresham)were on the case and continue to serve and protect.

The the young guys braving gang-bangers and thugs and dressing like gentlemen in tribute to the Choice in School that they and their parents have made and the caring professionals of Chicago Police Department are sending a signal to the Thug Life - They will not be intimidated.

The young guys know that the heroes in the Blue and White SUVs and patrol cars are there for them, just like Leo Alumni who pump hundreds of thousands of dollars into their educations.

God Bless all who watch over our Young Lions! May St. Michael the Archangel Guide and Protect you! Thank you, Officers!

6th District - Gresham


Eddie Johnson, Commander

7808 South Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60620
CAPS006District@chicagopolice.org
Phone: 312-745-3610
Fax: 312-745-3649
TTY: 312-745-3639

Sacred Cow Judge Dick Posner Says Pearl Harbor Was a Sneak Attack!

The most sensible legislative response to the financial collapse of September 2008 would have been to do nothing until the causes of the collapse were fully understood. Richard Posner is a U.S. Court of Appeals judge for the Seventh Circuit and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School

Larry David look-alike and Colleague Over-Turning Federal Sacred Cow, Dope Smoking Advocate, Abortion Loving* and Trust Multi-Millionaire Richard Posner** of the Federal 7th District Right Here says that spending more money than we take in is bad - two years after everyone else with a room temperature IQ said the same thing and were called Tea Baggers!

Judge, You go,Boy!

What else you got, Judge?

Posner Pointers:

1. Never spread Mayonnaise that has been left out unrefrigerated in the sun for three days on your lunch time banana . . . it's bad.

2. George Armstrong Custer should not have split his forces nor employed California Joe, prior to his attack on Little Big Horn.

3. I refuse to buy stock in a carburetor company.

4. A used condom is just that . . .walk away.

5. When the gas indicator says empty do not floor it.

6. Never eat anything larger than my head.

7. Do not rent anything with Paulie Shore.

8. It is no coincidence that blond hair evolved in Scandinavia and northern Europe, probably as an alternative means for women to advertise their youth, as their bodies were concealed under heavy clothing. I happen to be bald.

9. I should not have clouted my relative Mike to that job with the Secretary of State! Red China should not have allowed that You Tube video to go viral.

10. Partial Birth Abortion? Never felt a thing! But, it's gotta hurt like hell. . .it ain't me Babe!

Judge Posner, Folks! He'll be here all of his life! Genius.

*. . .if doctors were not threatened with prosecution, what of their patients? Had anyone suffered injury or been denied an otherwise legal abortion? Over the past year, the law on partial-birth abortion in Indiana had not been enjoined, so that state offered a laboratory of sorts. In the course of the year, there had been no shift away from D&E abortions; in fact, the number had increased. As Judge Easterbrook summed it up, quite tellingly, the "plaintiffs do not contend that in any of the states where a partial-birth abortion law is in effect, even one woman has been injured or denied an abortion because of the law."

For Judge Richard Posner, who wrote the dissent, the whole apparatus of argument his colleagues brought forth was specious. It was at least conceivable to him that the D&X procedure could be better for a particular woman, because it might reduce the amount of her bleeding or the dangers of infection from fetal parts left behind. To deny the choice in that case could be, for that woman, an "undue burden."

But Judge Posner's claim did not really rest on empirical tests, for the procedure was too rare to have been the object of a systematic study. For Judge Posner, the case turned on axioms. He began with the right of women to choose abortion, and anything that burdened or qualified that right was presumptively suspect, wrong, unconstitutional. In one of the curious sidelights of the dissenting opinion, Judge Posner expressed a deep concern for abortionists, who "are frequent subjects of picketing and other harassment and occasionally of physical assaults." But he had no such solicitude for the one whose assault is the object of the surgery: "From the standpoint of the fetus . . . it makes no difference whether, when the skull is crushed, the fetus is entirely within the uterus or ifs feet are outside the uterus."

The American Medical Association had testified that the D&X procedure was not strictly necessary for the health of the mother; still, there were opinions on either side. Judge Posner expressed a muted contempt for the experts with whom he disagreed, and he wondered what the courts would have made of a legislative finding of fact, in the South, in the 1950s, that blacks as a group were "slow learners."

http://smartgirlpolitics.ning.com/profiles/blogs/obama-and-elena-kagan-they
**Posner's political and moral views are hard to summarize. His parents were affiliated with the American Communist party, and in his youth and in the 1960s as law clerk to William J. Brennan he was generally counted as a liberal. However, in reaction to some of the perceived excesses of the late 1960s, Posner developed a strongly conservative bent. He encountered Chicago School economists Aaron Director and George Stigler while a professor at Stanford.[3] Posner summarized his views on law and economics in his 1973 book The Economic Analysis of Law.[3]

Today, although generally considered a figure of the right, Posner's pragmatism, his qualified moral relativism and moral skepticism,[8] and his affection for the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche set him apart from most American conservatives. Among his other influences are the American jurists Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and Learned Hand.

Antitrust
Along with Robert Bork, Posner helped shape the antitrust policy changes of the 1970s through his idea that 1960s antitrust laws were in fact making prices higher for the consumer rather than lower, while he viewed lower prices as the essential end goal of any antitrust policy.[3] Posner and Bork's theories on antitrust evolved into the prevailing view in academia and at the Justice Department of the George H.W. Bush Administration.[3]

Privacy
He famously opposed the right of privacy in 1981, arguing that the kinds of interests protected under privacy are not distinctive. He contended that privacy is protected in ways that are economically inefficient.

Abortion
He has written several opinions sympathetic to abortion rights, including a decision holding "partial-birth abortion" constitutionally protected in some circumstances.

Breach of contract
He has written favorably of efficient breach of contracts. Breach often leads to a worse result for society: if a seller breaches a contract to deliver building materials, the buyer's workers might go idle while the buyer looks for a replacement. The lost production is a cost to the company and its workers and, as such, is a social cost. An efficient breach would be a situation in which the benefits are higher than the costs, because the seller is better off for breaching even after paying damages to the buyer (for instance, if some third party had a much greater need for the building materials, and was willing to pay a price high enough to both out-price the original receiver and offset the realized costs of breach of contract).

Drugs
He has characterized the U.S.'s "War on Drugs" as "quixotic". In a 2003 CNBC interview, he discussed the difficulty of enforcing criminal marijuana laws and asserted that it is hard to justify the criminalization of marijuana compared to other substances.

Animal rights
Posner engaged in a debate on the ethics of using animals in research with the philosopher Peter Singer in 2001 at Slate magazine. He argues that animal rights conflicts with the moral relevance of humanity, and that empathy for pain and suffering of animals does not supersede advancing society.[9] He further argues that he trusts his moral intuition until it is shown to be wrong, and that his moral intuition says "it is wrong to give as much weight to a dog's pain as to an infant's pain." He leaves open the possibility that facts on animal and human cognition can and may change his intuition in the future; he further states that people whose opinions were changed by consideration of the ethics presented in Singer's book Animal Liberation failed to see the "radicalism of the ethical vision that powers [their] view on animals, an ethical vision that finds greater value in a healthy pig than in a profoundly retarded child, that commands inflicting a lesser pain on a human being to avert a greater pain to a dog, and that, provided only that a chimpanzee has 1 percent of the mental ability of a normal human being, would require the sacrifice of the human being to save 101 chimpanzees."[9]

Torture
When reviewing Alan Dershowitz's book, "Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat, Responding to the Challenge", Posner wrote in The New Republic, September 2002 that "If torture is the only means of obtaining the information necessary to prevent the detonation of a nuclear bomb in Times Square, torture should be used—and will be used—to obtain the information. ... no one, who doubts that this is the case, should be in a position of responsibility."[10][11]

Prisoners
In a dissent from an earlier ruling by his protege Frank Easterbrook, Posner wrote that Easterbrook's decision that female guards could watch male prisoners while in the shower or bathroom must stem from a belief that prisoners are "members of a different species, indeed as a type of vermin, devoid of human dignity and entitled to no respect.... I do not myself consider the 1.5 million inmates of American prisons and jails in that light."[3]

Newspapers
Posner supported the creation of a law barring hyperlinks or paraphrasing of copyrighted material as a means to prevent what he views as free riding on newspaper journalism.[12][13][14] His co-blogger Gary Becker simultaneously posted a contrasting opinion that while the Internet might hurt newspapers, it will not harm the vitality of the press, but rather embolden it.[15]