Government: June 2008 Archives

If there's one rainbow at the end of the Supreme Court's ruling this week on overturning the Washington, D.C., ban on firearms, it is it may keep the Rev. Jesse Jackson out of Lake County. The reverend said Friday he will fight to keep any new gun stores in Chicago from opening in residential neighborhoods.

That must mean he won't be picketing D.S. Arms, the gun maker and distributor located in Lake Barrington, a favorite target of Chicago gun control supporters. Instead, Jackson said he would work with other ministers and city officials to win legislation that would keep gun stores away from churches, schools and playgrounds in Chicago.

Because of the city's ban on handguns, there are no gun stores currently operating in Chicago. It didn't take long for gun supporters to file suit to overturn the Chicago ordinance. The National Rifle Association, the Second Amendment Foundation and the Illinois State Rifle Association all filed federal lawsuits Friday challenging Chicago's 26-year handgun ban. Said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb: "Chicago's handgun ban has failed to stop violent crime. It's time to give the Constitution a chance."

While protesting in Lake County, it seemed Chicago criminals certainly showed they can get their hands on guns without buying them legally, and without Rev. Jackson marching in the big city.

The Hound was shocked when Lake County Circuit Court Judge David Hall allowed a man from Zion to legally change his name last week to "In God We Trust". Guess being the national motto of the United States since 1956 and being on coin of the realm since the 1830s didn't protect it from being used for commercial purposes.

Wonder if Florida, which adopted "In God We Trust" as its state motto, knows about this. This could get ugly if they get mad. Any more of these type rulings and Judge Hall might be ready for the monicker of "Judge Goofy" around the courthouse. How many judges can claim they named a deity? It's not like changing a guy's name to Santa Claus.

A 57-year-old artist and bus driver (now there's a combination), Steve Kreuscher took his $600 economic stimulus rebate check and filed to legally change his name. Did President Bush know that's one use the money would go toward?

Kreuscher is now legally known as "In God" as his first name and "We Trust" as his surname. Will be interesting to see what happens to Mr. We Trust when he applies for a U.S. passport. Does this mean his children become something similar, like trustees?

While the newly annointed We Trust says changing his name represents devotion to God, it sounds to The Hound the real reason he did it was to have a name that stood out so he could sell his art for commercial purposes. In The News-Sun account on June 14, We Trust said he's already starting signing his name to canvas. "There are billions of artists out there. If you don't do something to stand out in the crowd, the world won't recognize you," he said. Don't stand too close to this guy --- there might be lightning bolts aplenty.

Isn't using the motto of the U.S. for commercial purposes against federal law. Where's the U.S. attorney's office on this matter? Or is this merely a free speech issue? And how do we know there isn't another "In God We Trust" living in Lake County. If there is, how do we differentiate them? Middle initials?

This is one of the loopiest judgments The Hound has heard coming out of a Lake County courtroom. For all you folks who want to change your name to something odd, you should obviously head here.

The Hound understands "E Pluribus Unum" is still available, but you better move fast. And ask for Judge Hall to be assigned the case.

There's a few things the federal government is supposed to do for us citizens. One of them is putting together a military that can protect us from international foes that want to do us harm. The Bush administration record on this issue is sorely lacking. The latest example is the airheads running the Air Force.

Apparently, the Air Force's control of our land-based and airborne nuclear arsenal has been pretty cavalier during the Bush regime. Guess these Republicans failed to watch "Dr. Strangelove."

But when they did get a screening of the Stanley Kubrick classic, they eventually got the gumption to fire Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley. It takes a lot to get rid of a secretary and even more to can a field-grade officer. The Hound thinks this is a story that has been underplayed in the Beltway media which remain fixated on the November election even though its mid-June.

Managing this nation's nuclear weapons is a pretty serious job. If they would have seen "Dr. Strangelove" back in 2005 when these two airheads were appointed, they would have known this.

We now find out the Air Force shipped what they thought was helicopter fuses to Taiwan. Instead, they were electrical fuses for Minuteman ballistic missile warheads which happened to be out of U.S. control for about a year-and-a-half. Then there was the B-52 flight that was loaded with nuclear missiles and its crew was sent on a cross-country journey. What if they crashed?

Which begs the question: What else happened that Air Force brass and we don't know?

The Hound has known a few jet jockeys over the years. They are warriors, undoubtedly, and there's nothing like an F-4 Phantom at tree level when you're popping smoke. But they're fliers, not actuaries. Besides, they really don't like pulling guard duty. They like the wild blue yonder.

There is life in the Illinois Republican Party after all. The Hound thought the folks from the Grand Old Party were on life support, but with all the Democratic feuding and conviction of Tony Rezko, Gov. Rod "The Mod" Blagojevich's chief fund-raiser, and real estate buddy of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, things maybe looking up for the down and out GOPsters.

Party big-wig Andy McKenna even had the temerity to call on Blagojevich to return all the money raised by Rezko for the governor's re-election campaign, including $1.4 million raised from 2001-2004. Like that's going to happen.

But the point has been made that Blago campaigned for his first term on bringing trust back to Springfield and state government after four years of Republican George Ryan in the Governor's Mansion. So much for that promise. Blago hasn't even lived in the mansion, preferring the city lights of Chicago to Springpatch.

Now comes House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, circulating a memo to legislative candidates spelling out how they can discuss whether Blago should be impeached --- with talking points that compare corruption under the governor to a
tumor that must be removed. Yikes! It's getting nasty in the Democratic trenches.

The Associated Press came upon the 14-page rundown of Blagojevich's alleged "misdeeds and malfeasance" which is sure to deepen the feud between the two Democrats. That, too, would create another opening for Republicans to make political hay.

Just a few months ago the Republican Party looked like a bunch of dysfunctional pols. Bet it's good to see the other side undergoing the same treatment. There may be hope after all.