Sandi Jackson was right. Her husband did throw her under the bus.

Sandi Jackson knew what was coming when she said last week that her husband Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. had "thrown her under the bus." This story does get better and better every day:

Jesse Jackson Jr. Plea Deal Could Be Filed As Soon As Friday
February 14, 2013 10:01 PM

(CBS) – Federal prosecutors are now ready to file their plea agreement with Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., CBS 2 has learned.

Jackson’s wife, Sandi, faces legal troubles under the arrangement.

Formal charges against Jesse Jackson Jr. could be filed as soon as Friday and Tuesday at the latest. His plea has also implicated his wife, leading to tax fraud charges against her.

The filing at the U.S District Courthouse in Washington will not require a court appearance by either Jackson. Plea agreements will be submitted to the court clerk and assigned to judges, who will set initial court dates.

As CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reported last week, Jesse Jackson Jr. will plead guilty to one felony count of misuse of campaign funds and then let a federal judge determine his punishment, which according to the agreement could range from probation to five year in prison.

Jackson’s deal calls for him to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars spent for things like travel and meals with a mistress and a $40,000 men’s Rolex watch he bought for himself. Jackson’s resignation from Congress was also part of the deal.

But Jackson’s pleading guilty to using campaign funds for personal expenses could expose Sandi, his campaign manager, to tax-fraud charges.

The congressman’s guilty plea says Sandi knew about improper purchases that apparently include breakfast snacks, cosmetic services, even beds purchased for campaign workers.
Sandi Jackson is expected to accept responsibility for some things because, as the congressman’s campaign manager, she signed the tax returns.

Both Jacksons could face penalties ranging from probation to jail time.
But it’s hard to believe that, with two young children at home, both would be sent to prison.

Chicago attorney Dan Webb is representing Sandi Jackson.

In your future: Jail time. And divorce.

"Tell me why you need an assault rifle"

The current mantra of the anti-gun liberals: "Tell me why you need an assault rifle."

Easy answer: Because it's a very well known and recently demonstrated fact that during times of crisis law enforcement will attack innocent civilians, unprovoked and with deadly force. In this case I have every right to return fire.

All it takes is for some unknown bureaucrat to accidentally label you as a "domestic terrorist" or a "threat to Homeland Security" and you'll have the entire law enforcement community working overtime to "bring you to justice," which these days means they'll burn you to death in your own home without due process. 

Anderson Cooper: "What's that smoke?"

Was the national media the only people NOT listening to a live internet radio scanner feed during the final moments of Christopher Dorner's life? Was law enforcement completely unaware that anyone in the world with a 'net connection could overhear their plans to kill Christopher Dorner by burning him to death?

The internet really does reach into some remote places. Who would ever have imagined that you could view multiple live helicopter news video feeds while simultaneously monitoring multiple law enforcement radio communications. This was easily the most spectacular "reality" event ever broadcast.

As my wife and I sat watching the scene unfold on television last night, I was able to listen in on the radio communications of the officers on the ground who had surrounded Dorner in the cabin. Here I was, in my living room nearly 2,000 miles away, viewing the helicopter video feed on television while listening to live police radio communications on the internet.

Anyone listening would have heard in real time the search for Dorner and the chase, then frantic calls of "officer down officer down," "medic ship is in the air" and "deputies still down in the kill zone." At one point I commented to my wife how embarrassing this is going to be for mainstream media. Their information was waaay behind what I knew was actually happening via the scanner feed, and what they were reporting had that fuzzy, unclear message that you get when the news is passed from someone, who is not quite sure what to say, to someone to someone else, then to a camera man who passes it to a reporter who tells it to a producer who passes it to another producer who re-languages the words for the on-air news anchor. It's no wonder we roll our eyes at most news reports these days.

And then the media was ordered to "stand down." They promptly complied by pulling their helicopters out of visual range of the scene. They knew as well as I did what was coming next, and didn't have the guts to let their viewers witness the truth. That's called complicity, and they are guilty. At this point I had one of those moments where you get that "tingly" feeling on the back of your neck and you know what's going to happen even before it does, and I said to my wife, "they're going to burn him to death". And they did.

A few minutes later I overheard the words “The burners are deployed, and we have a fire.” "Burners" are police slang for tear-gas canisters, with good reason as they are well known to start fires wherever they are used. It's common for tactical units to have Fire Department units on scene when they may be using tear gas. They'd used multiple "burners" to start the house on fire. And being that an active shooter was in the home, Fire Department units were safely away from the scene. Moments later the old wood cabin was engulfed in flames. 

Here's some of what was overheard and captured from the police scanner feeds:

OFFICER: “Fucking burn this motherfucker”

OFFICER: “Alright, we’re gonna go ahead with the plan with the burners”

OFFICER: “Copy” 

OFFICER: “Like we talked about”

OFFICER: “The burners are deployed, and we have a fire”

DISPATCHER: "Copy, burners are deployed, and we have a fire

 OFFICER: "cabin is starting to collapse.”

The cabin was a smoldering heap of ash before the mainstream media even knew what was happening. Ten minutes later CNN's Anderson Cooper: "Hey, what's all that smoke from?" DUH.

And here we are the morning after, all of us talking about what happened. As details emerge of what transpired during this entire spectacle, there is going to be plenty of media spin. The high-fives at LAPD lasted about 10 minutes before everyone there began to face the mess that needs to be cleaned up. It's the morning after and you can be damn sure those that need to be are in meetings getting their stories straight and making decisions on how this is going to be messaged to the media. Some are gonna eat shit sandwiches, others will be promoted. 

My own thoughts: This was handled badly by the LAPD from the start. The ensuing LAPD panic resulted in the shooting of three civilians when officers opened fire on two different pickup trucks because they thought they looked kinda like Dorner's vehicle. Lesson learned: the cops aren't as cool and well trained as they would have you believe. As a result the LAPD with the help of the media have turned Chris Dorner into a false hero for those who believe that police departments are secret organizations that are out of control and our oppressive government will crush anyone that tries to reveal any secrets. This story is going to give us plenty to talk about in the upcoming weeks. 

UPDATE: Seems the media is very aware of internet links to radio scanners today. I predict the news media will take a page from NASCAR's playbook and be ready to go with radio scanner technology for future coverage of events like we saw last night.

65.4 Million Guns Bought Since Obama Took Office

from cnsnews.com

By Gregory Gwyn-Williams, Jr.

There have been 65,376,373 background checks completed for Americans purchasing firearms since February of 2009, the first full month of Barack Obama's presidency.

According to data compiled by the FBI, the number of Americans purchasing guns has skyrocketed since Obama was elected.

In 2009, there were 13,984,953 background checks for Americans buying firearms. If we subtract the 1,212,860 checks completed in the month of January, the total checks for the year under Obama were 12,772,090.

For 2010, background checks totaled 14,320,489. In 2011, checks were 16,336,732, and in 2012, 19,463,832. Background checks for the month of January 2013 were 2,483,230.
This totals 65,376,373 background checks completed since President Obama's first full month in office, or 44,748 background checks per day!

By comparison, the number of gun purchases in Obama's first term is 91.1% higher than President George W. Bush's first-term total of 34,214,066 background checks.

House Speaker Madigan on the 7th Circuit Court's Illinois CCW ruling: “In light of events in recent months in Illinois and in other parts of the country, it’s appropriate and necessary that we give a full vetting to proposed state legislation on this matter”

News for speaker Madigan: there's not much left to talk about. No more negotiations or bullying Illinois gun owners. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has spoken and you've got until June 10 to get legislation passed that meets the strict ruling of the Circuit Court judges:

In December, a federal appeals court struck down Illinois’ law that stops people from carrying a weapon.

And Todd Vandermyde, a lobbyist for the Illinois State Rifle Association, said that ruling closed the door on many of the “negotiations” that surrounded concealed carry legislation in the past.

"There are certain things that are not negotiable in the process," Vandermyde said last week at a public hearing. Concealed carry “will be a ‘shall issue’ permit, there will be no discretion by some bureaucrat as to whether you get to exercise your right,” he said.

“It will be a statewide permit, there will be no carve-out for Chicago. There will be no carve-out for Cook County,” Vandermyde said.

State Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg, who has authored several concealed-carry laws during his time in Springfield, said the federal court ruling goes even further.

"The clock is still ticking. June 10 is the deadline," Phelps said

Madigan is daddy to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Lisa is thought by many to be the frontrunning challenger to current Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, possibly the most ineffective individual I've ever witnessed in Springfield. The Madigans are staunch anti-gun liberals, as AG in 2011, Lisa tried unsuccessfully to have the names and addresses of all Illinois FOID holders made public. They're no doubt supremely pissed off at the Circuit Court's ruling. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to Illinois becoming a "shall issue" state.

Under the bus today: The Head of Cook County's Probation Department

Nobody seems to care when it's the usual "honor student" being put into the ground, but when it's by all accounts a genuine honor student, and one that was at the inauguration of the "Chosen One", you're damn right somebody is getting thrown under.

Today's victim is Jesus Reyes, director of the Cook County Adult Probation Department.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Alleged gunman in Hadiya Pendleton slaying was on probation for weapons conviction

By Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune reporter
7:27 a.m. CST, February 12, 2013
The reputed gang member accused of gunning down 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton last month was on the street even though he had been arrested three times in connection with break-ins and trespassing while on probation for a weapons conviction in recent months, the Tribune has learned.
In two of those arrests, including one just 2 1/2 months ago, Cook County probation officials failed to notify prosecutors or the judge that Michael Ward had been arrested on the new misdemeanor charges and allegedly violated his probation.
The head of the county's probation department acknowledged Monday that his office fell short in its responsibilities and vowed to find out what went wrong.
Reyes emphasized, though, that it was unclear whether any of Ward's alleged probation violations would have led to his being sent to prison for an extended time. The probation department handles thousands of cases each year, and often alleged violations lead only to short jail stints — especially on misdemeanor arrests or if the new charges are soon dropped, as happened in two of Ward's arrests, he said."There should have been a violation filed, but for some reason there was not," said Jesus Reyes, director of the Cook County Adult Probation Department. "Absolutely, we will investigate."
"I don't know if something that minor would have taken him off the street for very long," Reyes said.
Bob Loeb, a veteran criminal defense attorney and former county prosecutor, said many judges are reluctant to clog up their calls with probation violations.
"They'll hold them for a while to show them the inside of the jail," Loeb said. "If the new charge is dismissed, then often they don't proceed on the (violation of probation) because they've already accomplished scaring the guy. So nothing else happens."
Ward, then 17, was arrested in October 2011 after Chicago police officers responding to a call of a person with a gun in the 3700 block of South Langley Avenue spotted him running away in clothing matching the description of the suspect, according to court records.
Officers chased Ward and saw him throw a handgun into a grassy area behind a building, the records say. The weapon, a loaded Cobra .38 Special, was later found under a bush, according to court records. Ward told the officers that he had the gun "because the boys from Lake Park were after me," apparently a reference to gang members from a nearby neighborhood.
Ward pleaded guilty to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in January 2012 and was sentenced to two years of probation by Judge Nicholas Ford. As part of his probation, Ward was ordered confined to his home at night for the first six months, court records show. He also was instructed to complete his high school diploma and attend an anti-violence forum.
Less than three months later, Ward was arrested on the South Side and charged with breaking into a car, but probation officials didn't notify prosecutors that constituted a violation of his probation, Reyes said. At his next court date, prosecutors dropped the charge, records show.
In July, Ward was again arrested on charges he broke into a vehicle. This time, the probation office alerted the state's attorney's office, prompting prosecutors to ask that his probation be rescinded. In August, Ford ordered Ward held without bail, according to the records.
But the break-in charges were dropped the next month when the complaining witness did not appear in court. Three days later, Ford ordered Ward released from custody, records show.
Court records show Ward, now 18, picked up his third arrest in late November. He was charged with misdemeanor trespassing, but probation officials again failed to notify prosecutors, according to Reyes. The charge was dropped in December when a witness failed to show up in court, records show.
Police also arrested Ward numerous times as a juvenile on charges ranging from robbery to battery to marijuana possession, court records show. At least two of those arrests resulted in convictions, and Ward spent time in 2011 on juvenile probation.
Tribune reporter Carlos Sadovi contributed

Director Jesus Reyes, here comes the EXPRESS bus to the end of your career as a county bureaucrat, driven by Supt. McNotMyFault:

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel forced by court to write checks to the NRA totaling more than 3/4 million dollars.

Oak Park's misguided attempt to ban handguns cost their taxpayers over $660K, also paid directly to the NRA. A number of recent Supreme Court and Federal Appeals Court decisions have made it clear that the Second Amendment means what it says. Supreme Court decisions on District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v.Chicago, and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision on Illinois' ban on the right to carry. The highest courts in the land have ruled that American's have every right to arm themselves, in their homes and in public. Instead of spending taxpayers hard earned tax dollars attempting to disarm the honest citizen, maybe these politicians should be using the money to enforce the near 50,000 firearm laws that are already on the books. 

But as a long time member of the NRA, I do thank Mayor Emanuel and the citizens of Chicago for their generous contribution, plus a strong holla out to the residents of Oak Park too.

DHS chooses to ignore the Fourth Amendment under the guise of "national security".

Claiming a "national security" need, non-elected Department of Homeland Security bureaucrats have decided they can ignore the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution and seize the electronic devices of anyone "near" the borders of the United States, without warrant, suspicion or probable cause.

For those that haven't reviewed the Constitution lately, the Fourth Amendment clearly states:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

This decision by DHS is ripe for abuse:

• The Department of Homeland Security’s civil rights watchdog has concluded that travelers along the nation’s borders may have their electronics seized and the contents of those devices examined for any reason whatsoever — all in the name of national security.
• The DHS, which secures the nation’s border, in 2009 announced that it would conduct a “Civil Liberties Impact Assessment” of its suspicionless search-and-seizure policy pertaining to electronic devices “within 120 days.” More than three years later, the DHS office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties published a two-page executive summary of its findings.
• “We also conclude that imposing a requirement that officers have reasonable suspicion in order to conduct a border search of an electronic device would be operationally harmful without concomitant civil rights/civil liberties benefits,” the executive summary said.

What next then? After it's established that anyone near the border is open to unwarranted search and seizure, expect Napolitano's "Homeland Suppression Army" to be able to search your home anywhere in the United States at will, and seize your assets and belongings as she deems necessary to the needs of "national security."  It would appear that President Obama is not only allowing, but actually encouraging, non-elected, appointed bureaucrats to simply ignore the highest law of the land, the United States Constitution, and do what ever they deem necessary to intimidate the citizens of the United States.