Month: January 2010

It Is Now Illegal to Text and Drive in Illinois

Posted on by TL
texting

From the Chicago Tribune:

Take your thumbs off the keypad and put your hands on the wheel — it’s now illegal to text-message while driving.

A state law that takes effect Friday also bans checking e-mail, updating Facebook and Web surfing while driving, though using your phone’s GPS is still OK.

“We want everyone to keep their attention on the roadway,” said Capt. Scott Compton, an Illinois State Police spokesman. “Texting and cell phone use is a distraction that not only takes your eyes off the road, but often takes more than one hand to do.”

The texting ban is one of nearly 300 new laws taking effect with the new year, ranging from ethics reforms in the wake of ex- Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s ouster to how credit card companies can market on college campuses.

According to ENEWSPF, police are expected to aggressively enforce the no-texting while driving ban. Police now have authority to subpoena your mobile phone records after an accident to see if you were texting while driving.

Danish Police Stop Attack on Cartoonist who Drew Cartoon Prophet Muhammad

Posted on by TL

From the New York Times:

Police foiled an attempt to kill an artist who drew a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad that sparked outrage in the Muslim world, the head of Denmark’s intelligence service said Saturday.

Jakob Scharf, who heads the PET intelligence service, said a 28-year-old Somalia man was armed with an ax and a knife when he attempted to enter Kurt Westergaard’s home in Aarhus shortly after 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Friday.

The attack on the artist, whose rendering was among 12 that led to the torching of Danish diplomatic offices in predominantly Muslim countries in 2006, was ”terror related,” Scharf said in a statement.

”The arrested man has according to PET’s information close relations to the Somali terrorist group, al-Shabaab, and al-Qaida leaders in eastern Africa,” he said.

Police shot the Somali man in a knee and a hand, authorities said.

More from Reuters:

Westergaard, 74, who depicted Prophet Mohammad with a bomb in his turban, was not hurt in the incident, a police spokesman said.

He said police were investigating whether the Somali man acted alone in the attempted attack at Westergaard’s home, which is widely reported to be under tight security.

Last year, U.S. authorities arrested two men in Chicago who were suspected of planning attacks on Westergaard and his newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which published the caricatures of Prophet Mohammed.

For your consideration, without comment.

Anyone?

Restaurateur Nick Sord Charged with DUI in Crash that Killed Girlfriend

Posted on by TL

An absolute tragedy.

From the Chicago Tribune:

A business partner of a Blackhawks legend and former coach has been charged with drunk driving after a crash early Thursday near Oak Forest that killed his girlfriend, Cook County sheriff’s officials said today.

Nick Sord’s blood-alcohol level was 0.236, three times the legal limit for driving, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. Sord, 22, of the 10600 block of Churchill Drive, and Denis Savard are partners in a venture to open a restaurant, Savard’s Hall of Fame, in Munster.

Sord has been charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence.

His girlfriend Jessica Mejia, 20, of the 700 block of Brookwood Road in New Lenox, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which happened near 147th Street and Oak Park Avenue in unincorporated Cook County.

Once again, according to police, Nick Sord’s blood-alcohol level was 0.236, three times the legal limit for driving.

Read more at the Trib.

Dem Rep. Eric Massa Smacks Cheney: ‘Political diarrhea of the mouth’

Posted on by TL

As I’ve said before, I don’t care for MSNBC’s The Ed Show. Host Ed Schultz enjoys inflammatory rhetoric. On Wednesday, Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) gave him some.

From the raw story:

"We need to grow a spine and stand up and show America exactly who did what," Massa said, pointing to Cheney’s role in the events leading to the Christmas day attempt and the fact that the Bush administration took several days longer than Obama to address the 2001 shoe-bomber incident.

"It was Dick Cheney personally responsible for the release of the masterminds of the Christmas airline terror plot," he said, accusing the former vice president of shifting his culpability to Democrats.

"It makes no difference what we do, this man suffers from political diarrhea of the mouth, and unless we stand up and call it as it is he’s going to keep on getting away with it," Massa said.

Host Ed Schultz called Cheney a "coward" and heatedly rebuffed the GOP meme that their party is more effective on national security, and said the Democratic Party cedes ground by failing to counter these claims.

Yes, Dick Cheney needs to shut up, but he won’t. He’s angry. Very angry. That much anger can’t be good for your health.

Take a walk, Dick. Take up tennis or yoga.