BITS & PIECES

 Question of the day:

What do we we do with the challenged lady who is obsessed with airports and sneaking on planes for which she doesn't have a ticket? MARILYN HARTMAN, 69, of Chicago, who gained notoriety for sneaking aboard and taking a trip to London several years ago has been banned from all airports in Illinois but constantly returns to O'hare despite the fact it activates her new electronic ankle monitor and sounds a loud alarm which results in immediate arrest. 

In & out of trouble for several years with criminal offenses related to airport security, this seemingly harmless grandma-type poses a huge problem for law enforcement and the judicial system, not to mention TSA security. Send her to prison with hardened criminals? Institutionalize her? 

Co-vid prevents both of those but maybe this is a solution: a minimum security work farm downstate complete with ankle bracelet where they have individual rooms rather than dormitories and she can do light landscaping/gardening work in warm weather and work in the greenhouse during the colder months. I don't know if that's a perfect solution but you just can't let her walk free when she keeps breaking the law.

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Catching up with a couple of the rioters:

Remember the guy who broke into the Speaker's office on January 6th, put his boots up on the desk while smoking a cigar and then stole letterhead stationary?

 Dominick Pezzola is STILL in jail awaiting trial and despite repeated attempts by his attorney, the judge stays with his remand order for which there is no bond because Pezzola presents a "clear and present danger" to the community. An admitted member of the Proud Boys, Pezzola whined out loud in court "It's not fair!" when refused bond the other day which brought a big smile to my face. If he thinks this isn't fair, wait until the gavel drops when he's sentenced down the road.

Another dirt bag, Chad Jones, was the guy attacking the police officer with a flag pole and then told his friends he was probably "in big trouble" and guess what? He was right! Assaulting a federal police officer plus several other charges carry a maximum sentence of SIXTY years. Meanwhile, he too has been denied bail because the judge says there's no guarantee that Jones won't disappear if given freedom.

And you have to just love the rioters/arrestees who have written letters of apology in hopes of a lighter sentence to the judges stating that they were caught up in the 'passion and excitement' of the moment. Similar to a pack of wild dogs who have no rules? just sayin........

My favorite is "this is not who i am nor what i stand for". Well, i think i pretty much disagree with that statement.

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How high is high? Illinois pot shops sold $109 million dollars of weed during the month of March, beating the previous monthly 'high' (see what i did there?) by almost thirty million. Talk about March Madness!

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The day-to-day violence constantly amazes me. The south & west sides of Chicago are war zones and you have about a 20% chance of not being victimized if you travel thru these neighborhoods as an outsider. Car jackings in Chicago are up 400% with homicides up 55% (767 in 2020--#1 in the nation!) and ALMOST EVERYONE SEEMS TO CARRY A GUN.

 70% of all gun arrests in Chicago are for people between the ages of 18-30 and almost a third of all gun violators are aged 18-22. Just take a second to visualize that in your head. Imagine one out of every three of your son or daughter's friends carrying a weapon at all times. 

Solution? I have one. If you're found in possession of an illegal weapon outside your home, it's a mandatory 3 year prison term for first offenders and ten years for the second offense. Seems simple to me plus we would have to build more prisons which would provide more jobs, etc BUT the bleeding heart liberals would scream "second chance" "counseling" "probation" and muck up my plan but i'm real tired of mollycoddling (my grandmother's word) these thugs. 

Break a gun law.....go to prison. Simple. Incarceration is the ONLY answer.

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No matter your feelings on the George Floyd trial, I still believe Derek Chauvin was wrong and will be found guilty. There is no way the defense can offset the emotional testimony of family, friends and witnesses plus the words of the 

off-duty paramedic, Chauvin's lieutenant and other officials. The fact that Floyd was handcuffed will seal the deal. 

The only avenue the defense has is medical in nature as they try to sway the jury with testimony about his long history of drug addiction, pain tolerance and his size but I think they will fall far short of convincing the jury. I also think that any charge related to pre-meditation is ridiculous and should be dismissed by the jury.  We'll see.

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Much more to talk about but the weather is too nice. Later, dudes & dudettes.