Monthly archives: July, 2010

Federal Law Against Same-Sex Couples Ruled Unconstitutional

July 9, 2010
Civil LibertiesCivil RightsConservativesGLBTLegalLiberalsSupreme Court
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From our friends at the ACLU via ENEWSPF:

In two related cases, a federal district court in Massachusetts has ruled that critical portions of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violate the federal Constitution. In striking down the section of the statute that bars federal legal protections to legally married same-sex couples, Judge Joseph Tauro found that the law violates states’ rights to define marriage and violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause by treating married same-sex couples differently from married different-sex couples. Prior to the passage of DOMA, the federal government always recognized the states’ right to define marriage. The cases were brought by the Massachusetts attorney general and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD).

A bill is currently pending in the House of Representatives that would repeal DOMA and respect state marriages by providing federal protections for married same-sex couples. The Respect for Marriage Act would ensure that, once the federal government recognizes the marriage of a same-sex couple, it would continue to recognize that marriage even if the couple moved to another state that would not have allowed the couple to marry in the first place.

The following can be attributed to James Esseks, Director of the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project:

"Today’s decision is an important step forward for marriage for same-sex couples. There are thousands of same-sex couples lawfully married in the five states and Washington, DC that currently allow them the freedom to marry. Today’s ruling recognizes that the federal government has literally no justification for refusing to respect those marriages.

"To finish the job, Congress should pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which is pending in Congress and would completely repeal DOMA. We applaud this decision and congratulate GLAD and the Massachusetts attorney general for their work in bringing the cases."

This is good news for all of us who hope for true equality in this country. We are very happy for all of our GLBT friends.

One day, this will all seem oh-so-silly.

DOMA has got to go.

Ebert Reviews 9500 Liberty: Big Thumbs Up

July 8, 2010
AmericaimmigrationInternationalJohn McCainPhilosophicalRepublicans
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I had the opportunity to see a preview of 9500 Liberty about a year ago. Met Eric Byler and Annabel Parker. Liked them both.

Roger Ebert just published a review of the film, not yet released in Chicago, although it should be, soon.

Here’s the question to ask yourself: What if all the illegal aliens just left? What if they all left Arizona right now?

Prince William County has been there, and went back. The results were disastrous for the local economy, quality of life. Turns out illegal-aliens were not responsible for more crime in Prince William County. In fact, as the number of illegals grew, crime went down. And when they left, there went the tax base, and legal residents of Prince William County found themselves facing 25% increases in taxes.

So it goes.

From Roger Ebert:

When Prince William experienced a major building boom in the 1990s, a shortage of labor created a demand for workers, which led to an increase in the Latino population. Some of the newcomers were legal immigrants. Some were not. A blogger named Greg Letiecq began to write about his unhappiness with hearing Spanish spoken in public places. Finding an audience, he fomented about rising crime rates, rising taxes to pay for services for the newcomers, overcrowded dwellings, music played too loud, fast driving, and so on. He included Latino crime reports from the local police blotter. He even claimed armed members of the Mexican revolutionary group Zapatistas were moving to Prince William County.

His organization, “Help Save Manassas,” issued saucer-sized red lapel stickers, and soon they were seen around the town. He and Board of Supervisors president Corey A. Stewart created a law that would require local police to stop people for "probable cause" and ask them to show their proof of citizenship. At the time, this measure seemed to have popular support, and there was resentment against a Mexican-American citizen who erected a large sign on his property (at 9500 Liberty St.) to object to it.

About this time, filmmakers Eric Byler and Annabel Park (a Chinese-American and a Korean-American) began to post videos on YouTube that weren’t so much political as the raw material for a documentary. They showed discussions and arguments among local residents, testimony before the county board, Stewart, Letiecq and other pro-law figures and ordinary citizens. As the videos went viral, they inspired another local blog to counter Letiecq and a growing community discussion about the law.

Among the law’s opponents was Charlie T. Deane, the long-serving, widely respected local police chief, who testified the law would cost about $14 million over five years to enforce, who said his officers had more important things to do and who said (along with the county attorney) that without video cameras in every police car, the officers and the county would be open to lawsuits. Cameras would cost another $3.1 million.

Ironically,the law was partly to blame for a tax rate increase of 25% a year. There was another problem. Latinos began to move out of Prince William County or take their business to nearby friendlier areas. There was a retail slump, badly timed to coincide with the collapse of the housing market. As tax-paying “legals” left, the county tax base dropped. Restaurants and shops closed. Prince William County and Virginia have sales taxes, income taxes and other taxes that even non-citizens pay.

Read Ebert’s full review here.

And if you are among those clammoring for laws to protect us from illegals, be carefu what you wish for, my friend.

Chicago Loses A Hero: Officer Thor Soderberg Killed By Own Weapon During Struggle

July 7, 2010
ChicagoChicagolandCrime and PunishmentEthicsIllinoisPhilosophical
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The tragic news first from the Chicago Sun-Times:

A Chicago Police officer — an academy instructor who volunteered his time by serving as a guide to a blind triathlete — was shot and killed with his own weapon Wednesday afternoon during a struggle outside a South Side police station, authorities said.

Officer Thor Soderberg, 43, was killed at about 3:45 p.m. at 61st and Racine in the parking lot outside the old Englewood District police station, which is now used by the department’s targeted response and gang enforcement units.

“The entire Chicago Police Department would like to send their deepest condolences to the officer’s family, and we ask that you keep them in your prayers,” Assistant Police Supt. James Jackson said.

Soderberg had finished his shift and was standing near his car when a 24-year-old man attacked — disarming him and shooting him with Soderberg’s own weapon, Jackson said.

The suspect ran away and then robbed a civilian, police said.

Officers from the police station exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who was shot in the abdomen, Jackson said.

The suspect, a convicted felon, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he is under guard.

More from the Chicago Tribune:

Calvin Jefferson, 28, said the suspect is his brother and was in critical but stable condition after being shot in the chest. "I’m still shocked," said Jefferson, adding that his brother has always been a bit of a loner who is secretive and didn’t talk much to others.

Soderberg was an 11-year veteran, according to Jackson. Friends said he was married but had no children. Police were not releasing his name because some relatives had not been notified yet.

Soderberg was typically an instructor at the training academy, but was operating out of 61st and Racine as part of Operation Protect Youth.

"If your son or daughter came on the job, he’s the guy you’d want to train them," said Assistant Deputy Supt. Matthew Tobias, who used to run the academy. "He understood what the oath meant. He understood what a priviledge [sic] it was to wear the uniform of a Chicago police officer."

A friend of the slain officer talks about the loss:

The shooting left those who knew the officer stunned by the sudden loss.

"I want people to know that he’s a great man and gave the Chicago Police a great name," said Mazen Istanbouli, a DePaul professor and close friend of the officer. "He was a giver, he never thought of himself and always thought of others."

Istanbouli, who is blind, said Soderberg helped him train and competed by his side in triathlons.

Istanbouli said the two had known each other for about three years. Istanbouli said Soderberg accompanied him to the New York City and Chicago triathalons, running and biking and swimming alongside him and serving as his guide.

The two most recently ran together at a run for fallen police officers in Chicago this spring. Just today, Istanbouli said, he brought up Soderberg’s name because he wanted the officer to accompany him at an upcoming bicycle race.

Istanbouli recalled Soderberg’s humility, particularly after they ran a race and Istanbouli tried to thank him: "He said, ‘I’m doing this for you not for me, I don’t need the medal, I’m doing it for you.’ He helped me out with training and he helped me out throughout the process with swimming and running and biking, the whole thing we did everything."

Police, and members of the public, serve on the front lines in America every day. The front lines in America. In Chicago.

The South Side of Chicago.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the men and women in blue, whereever and whomever they serve.

Beyond Belief: LeBron James Will Announce NBA Plans In Hour-Long ESPN Special Thursday

July 6, 2010
ChicagoChicagolandSports
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LeBron James: where ego knows no bounds.

I can’t believe this. At all.

And I won’t watch.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

ESPN reported that LeBron James will announce his NBA plans on its network at 8 p.m. Thursday in an hourlong special.

ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported Tuesday night that James’ ”representatives” contacted the network and asked for the unusual arrangement. Broussard reported that ESPN officials confirmed the request but added the network was not told what James’ decision will be.

Both James’ publicist Keith Estabrook and ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz declined comment to the Associated Press.

You have got to be kidding.

For those of you obsessed with LeBron, my sympathies.

I really hope this immense ego does not land in Chicago.

Recession Aftermath Takes Bite Out Of Chicago’s Taste

July 5, 2010
ChicagoChicagolandEconomyJobs
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As the Great Recession continues to fade and recovery happens all-so-slowly, we have less money in our pockets to spend. Those of us who still have credit cards are wisely refraining from using them. Those of us just spending cash are learning to budget anew.

That means less "disposable income" to use for such things as the Taste of Chicago. More of us stayed home or celebrated elsewhere this year, compared to years past.

From the Sun-Times:

The 2010 Taste of Chicago drew 2.65 million people, about 700,000 fewer than the 3.35 million who attended the summer chow-fest in 2009.

The 21 percent attendance drop was mainly because the city canceled the July 3 Grant Park fireworks, an event that would bring more than 1 million downtown and through the Taste booths on that day alone, said Cindy Gatziolis of the Mayor’s Office of Special Events.

"People were coming in droves," Gatziolis said of the July 3 fireworks, which were canceled this year after 35 years in favor of three July 4 shows spread out along the lakefront. "They were filling up every available space."

The July 3 fireworks annually brought numbers that one of the Taste’s most attended musical acts, the 2008 Stevie Wonder show, couldn’t rival. Gatziolis said 350,000 people attended the Taste the day of Wonder’s concert.

And there was the crime. As of Sunday, 55 people had been arrested at the Taste as of Saturday night, and nine of those were charged with felonies, the Sun-Times reports.

New Features of Joomla 1.6 (Video)

July 5, 2010
General
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Turning Left is not a Joomla! site, but friends of ours run Joomla, so we’re putting this video here for any and all who want a sneak peak at Joomla 1.6.

Enjoy.

Chicago Approves Tough New Gun Restrictions

July 2, 2010
ChicagoCrime and Punishmentgun controlLegalViolence
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From the Sun-Times:

Grumbling about a U.S. Supreme Court they say is out of touch with America’s cities, Chicago aldermen voted 45-0 today to approve a rushed-through compromise gun ban.

The law, weaker than the gun ban tossed out Monday but with some even stronger new provisions, allows adults in Chicago to buy one gun a month, 12 a year, but they must pay registration and permit fees and take five hours of training.

Within 100 days, anyone who wants to keep a gun in the city will have to register, get their training and pay the fees. Also within 100 days, any of the estimated 10,000 Chicagoans convicted of a gun offense will have to register at their local police station like sex offenders.

That last bit took me by surprise.

It better hold up in court. I like it.

Mark Kirk Settles Nothing, Fails to Set Record Straight

July 2, 2010
CongressConservativesRepublicans
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I’ll leave this to someone much more objective in politics than I am: Carol Marin at the Sun-Times.

Carol was at a press conference this week where Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate was going to take questions about his several "misstatements" regarding his military service. Kirk did not satisfy Marin.

From the Sun-Times:

There are, by my count, approximately 10 misstatements or exaggerations of his military service. When, I asked, is a misstatement a mistake and when is it a willful untruth, a lie?

The congressman’s response: "I, I would say that some are quite small when you reach back 30 years. And with regard to the military award, that was my error. And I owned it and apologized for it. And like I said in the speech, [this] is to correct the record, to apologize, to release your official Navy record and then stand on that."

Kirk’s supporters in the audience voiced their disapproval with those of us who sought more candor, less carefully parsed responses.

That’s OK.

They’re partisans. We’re the press. And this is politics.

Unless there are new revelations to come, it’s time to move on.

One Kirk supporter told me the problem with these campaigns is that candidates have to be so careful about what they say and how they say it for fear someone like me will go over their claims with a fine-tooth comb.

Well, no kidding. That’s what happens during political campaigns.

And the public deserves to know.

Myths And Falsehoods About Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court Nomination

July 2, 2010
Barack ObamaCongressDemocratic NewsRepublicansSupreme CourtWhite House
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ENEWSPF is carrying a quite comprehensive article from Media Matters for America that addresses – heck, blows out of the water – every myth and falsehood that has been floated about Elena Kagan, including the following:

  • Myth: Kagan is "anti-military"
  • Myth: Kagan is "radical"
  • Myth: Kagan’s praise for an Israeli Supreme Court justice shows she’s a radical (NEW)
  • Myth: Kagan’s thesis shows she’s a socialist
  • Myth: Conservatives can credibly argue that Kagan’s personal and political views are relevant to confirmation process
  • Myth: "Kagan Standard" means Kagan must answer questions about issues that will come before the Supreme Court
  • Myth: Kagan’s Goldman Sachs role taints her nomination
  • Myth: Conservative opposition is based on the substance of Kagan’s nomination
  • Myth: Obama used "empathy" standard rather than fealty to law in choosing Kagan
  • Myth: Kagan is unqualified because she hasn’t been a judge (UPDATED)
  • Myth: Kagan has said judicial experience is an "apparent necessity"
  • Myth: Republicans would be justified in opposing Kagan because she lacks a judicial paper trail
  • Myth: Kagan is "Obama’s Harriet Miers"
  • Myth: Kagan’s record shows that she will rubber-stamp war-on-terror policies
  • Myth: Kagan’s 23-year-old statements about the Establishment Clause suggest she’s hostile to religion
  • Myth: Kagan’s recusal obligations would be "extraordinary"
  • Myth: Kagan "can become" too "emotionally involved on issues she deeply cares about"
  • Myth: Kagan not "fair-minded, impartial" and doesn’t have "proper temperament to be a judge"
  • Myth: Kagan is anti-free speech
  • Myth: Kagan supports banning books
  • Myth: Kagan wanted to "ban pamphlets" by individuals (NEW)
  • Myth: Kagan is anti-Second Amendment
  • Myth: Kagan compared the NRA to the Klan (NEW)
  • Myth: Kagan banned ROTC from campus
  • Myth: Kagan "cover[ed] up" plagiarism at Harvard Law
  • Myth: Kagan’s citation of Marshall’s statement that the original Constitution was "defective" is controversial
  • Myth: Kagan’s memos to Justice Thurgood Marshall prove she’s outside mainstream (NEW)
  • Myth: Kagan’s campaign donations are unusual
  • Myth: Kagan supported Saudi sponsors of terrorism
  • Myth: Kagan accepted a gift by Saudi prince that brought Shariah at Harvard (NEW)
  • Myth: Kagan acted improperly in Warner Creek case
  • Myth: As SG, Kagan indulged her own views rather than defending the law
  • Myth: Kagan is avoiding "traditional interviews" with the press
  • Myth: Kagan supports holding terror suspects "without due process" (NEW)
  • Myth: Kagan believes that foreign law trumps constitutional law (NEW)
  • Myth: Kagan wants to protect sex offenders in the Catholic Church (NEW)
  • Myth: Kagan supports cloning human beings (NEW)

Read the entire article here.

Violence Escalates at Taste of Chicago

July 2, 2010
BusinessChicagoChicagolandEthics
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If you’re going to the Taste of Chicago, be careful.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Three teens — including a 15-year-old boy who was seriously hurt, and two others who got caught in a “melee” — were stabbed near the Taste of Chicago Thursday night.

In an apparently unrelated incident around the same time and at the same Loop intersection where the boy was seriously hurt, police officers Tased a man.

The boy was walking down the street with a group of friends in the 200 block of South State Street when they encountered a group of males fighting about 9:25 p.m., according to police News Affairs Officer Ronald Gaines.

The boy felt a pain in the back and realized he had been stabbed, Gaines said.

Police News Affairs Officer Amina Greer said the male stabbed is 15 years old.

That stabbing happened near the intersection of Jackson Boulevard and State Street and one person was taken in serious condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital about 9:18 p.m., Fire Media Affairs spokesman Joe Roccasalva said.

The Tribune called it a "rowdy night."

That’s an understatement:

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.

Other reports are coming in from friends on Facebook of people getting caught in the middle of fights on Metra trains coming from the Taste.

Be careful.