Illinois Review

Di Leo: Much More Than Murder in Highland Park

By John F. Di Leo - 

Reflections on the high stakes of such terrorist acts...

At 10:14 a.m. on July 4, 2022, a young man named Robert Crimo III allegedly aimed his rifle into the crowd at his hometown’s Independence Day parade and opened fire.

Within moments, the Chicago suburban town of Highland Park was a scene of terrible carnage.  Seven innocent people killed, more than 40 injured, at this writing. The alleged killer escaped the scene, but was caught that afternoon (we say “alleged,” because, while he has not yet been convicted, all sources agree that he was the perpetrator, without question).

Compliments to the many law enforcement and medical professionals who dealt with this unexpected nightmare, on what should have been one of our nation’s longest-running celebrations, the anniversary of the signing of our Declaration of Independence.

Within minutes, we heard politicians and newspeople, responding to the attack, getting everything wrong – making assumptions, using euphemisms, avoiding key truths.

MORE, in the American Thinker today, here:

Di Leo: From the Siege of Boston to the Baldwin Shooting

By John F. Di Leo - 

On Thursday, October 21, AD 2021, actor Alec Baldwin, a well-known anti-gun extremist, allegedly killed a cinematographer and injured the director, by firing a loaded gun directly at them during the making of a western movie called “Rust” on a remote film set in New Mexico.

As more information comes out every day, it is too early to write a definitive account of the incident, or even to completely rule out intentional homicide.  At this writing, it appears to be agreed that an assistant director took a gun from a table, announced “Cold Gun” and handed it to Baldwin, who accepted it without personally checking it, then aimed it at the camera for a “point of view” shot, practicing his cross-draw before filming it, hitting both the cinematographer and the director with a single round.

There will likely be legal precedents set by this case; there will certainly be an avalanche of books and op/eds about it. Alec Baldwin will be pilloried in the press, and rightly so, but I wonder if the most important lesson of the incident may be lost in the storm.

ISRA applauds Circuit Court decision striking down Illinois’ FOID card law

CHATSWORTH, IL – White County's Judge T. Scott Webb ruled this week that Illinois’ FOID card law is unconstitutional, paving the way for the Illinois Supreme Court to take up the issue, according to Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association.

The case is The People of Illinois vs. Vivian Claudine Brown. In March of 2017, Brown was accused of possessing a firearm without a FOID card. In dismissing the charges against Brown, Judge Webb also ruled the FOID card unconstitutional.

In his ruling, Judge Webb stated, “A citizen in the State of Illinois is not born with a Second Amendment right. Nor does that right insure when a citizen turns 18 or 21 years of age. It is a façade. They only gain that right if they pay a $10 fee, complete the proper application, and submit a photograph. If the right to bear arms and self-defense are truly core rights, there should be no burden on the citizenry to enjoy those rights, especially within the confines and privacy of their own homes.

These 10 Examples of Defensive Gun Use Underscore Second Amendment’s True Purpose

Here are examples of why the right to bear arms is so essential. Amy Swearer writes:

Every day, untold numbers of Americans rely on their Second Amendment rights to protect their lives and livelihoods.

According to a 2013 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost every major study on the issue has found that Americans use their firearms in self-defense between 500,000 and 3 million times a year. There’s good reason to believe that most of these defensive gun uses aren’t reported to police, much less make the local or national news.

For this reason, The Daily Signal each month publishes an article highlighting some of the previous month’s many news stories on defensive gun use that you may have missed—or that might not have made it to the national spotlight in the first place. (Read accounts from 2019 and so far in 2020 here.)

State Rifle Association's Pearson: Illinois has its own “Beto” problem

By Richard Pearson, Executive Director, Illinois State Rifle Association -

Presidential candidate Robert Francis (“Beto”) O’Rourke inadvertently confirmed what most people have suspected all along: the goal of gun control advocates is confiscation of firearms.

When asked if he was proposing to take away firearms, Beto responded, “Hell yes, we are going to take your AR-15, your AK-47."

Oops. Looks like Beto did not get the memo that gun control advocates must pretend their so-called reforms are not a direct threat to our 2nd Amendment rights. They are fighting for “reasonable gun laws” (wink, wink).

Di Leo: The One Ring and the Red Flag Law

By John F. Di Leo - 

Most people enter politics for one of two purposes: to solve problems or to acquire power.

The hope, of course, is that these are tied together: that the reason for acquiring power is only to solve problems. Unfortunately, many in politics desire power for its own sake. Still, we Americans cling to the hope that we can usually assume the best of intentions in our political candidates, so we hope that their desire is truly to solve the problems of the day.

Illinois' gun law proposal "Orwellian," new senator says

EDWARDSVILLE - Newly-sworn in State Senator Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) says House Bill 888, which forces law-abiding citizens to give Illinois state agencies access to their personal social media accounts for merely considering exercising their constitutional right to own a firearm stems from an "Orwellian" mindset.

“It’s shocking that big-government liberals think the people of Illinois would be OK with granting government agencies the ability to snoop through their social media platforms,” Sen. Plummer said.  “This ‘Orwellian’ mindset is frightening and something that all Americans, regardless of their partisan affiliation, should be on guard against. In America we care about individual rights and privacy.”

See Illinois Review's STATE POLICE TO REVIEW SOCIAL MEDIA BEFORE GUN PURCHASES WITH NEW PROPOSAL

State police to review social media before gun purchases with new proposal

BUFFALO GROVE - Illinois residents' comments on Facebook, Twitter or elsewhere on the web that the State Police finds a problem could keep that person from owning a gun. That is if Democrat freshman from Buffalo Grove State Rep. Daniel Didech's HB 888 becomes law. 

Filing his first two bills Friday, Didech chose to focus on measures that could limit gun owners' rights. The first one would prohibit a person convicted as a stalker from buying a gun. The second would require law enforcement to review social media accounts before issuing a FOID card. The measure would also allow social media comments to provoke FOID card revocations. 

Thorner: John Lott debunks gun control advocates' arguments

By Nancy Thorner -

John Lott is known as the nation's preeminent expert on guns. Andrew Napolitano, senior judicial analyst at the Fox News Channel, in praise for Lott's latest book, The War of Guns (Arming yourself Against Gun Control Lies) described Lott as the "most dogged, intellectually credible, academic defender of the right to keep and bear arms in the United States today."

At Heartland Institute last week, Lott used his latest book (an essential book to read for defending your Second Amendment rights before they are taken away forever) as a sounding board for his remarks debunking the so-called "facts," "data," "arguments" of anti-gun advocates. His purpose is to expose how gun control movement has repeatedly twisted or ignored the real evidence, evidence that refutes them on every point.  Listen here to Lott's Heartland presentation.

Thorner/Ingold: 3D printer firearm parts much to do about nothing

Mashable photo

By Nancy Thorner & Ed Ingold - 

Seven states and Washington DC sued and successfully obtained a restraining order against release of plans to make firearm parts using 3D printers. The restraining order from U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik in Seattle puts that plan on hold for now.  As Lasnic stated, “There is a possibility of irreparable harm because of the way these guns can be made." 

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson called the ruling “a complete, total victory.” “We were asking for a nationwide temporary restraining order putting a halt to this outrageous decision by the federal government to allow these 3D downloadable guns to be available around our country and around the world. He granted that relief,” Ferguson said, at a news conference after the hearing. “That is significant.”

Predictably, most involved are Blue states  which come down against private firearm ownership whenever possible:  Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Maryland, New York and the District of Columbia, but Illinois has also joined in with the crusade.  

Thorner & Ingold: The Left Pushed Gun Control Over Empathy for Santa Fe High Victims

By Nancy Thorner & Ed Ingold - 

The shooting at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas brought renewed calls for a “solution” that would prevent similar occurrences in the future, after Dimitrios Pagourtzis Jr., 17, decided to kill ten innocent classmates and injure ten more.  As is often the situation, Dimitrios Pagourtzis' family members said they were "as shocked and confused as anyone" by the events that occurred.  Pagourtzis, they said, is a "smart, quiet, sweet boy."

Di Leo: The Bill of Rights and the Failure of Education

By John F. Di Leo - 

What have we learned, in the weeks since the Valentine’s Day massacre in Parkland, Florida?

We have seen the same well-intentioned but utterly misguided efforts that we always see after such horrors:  a focus on banning one weapon out of many, as if that would make a difference, while closing our eyes to the real perpetrators and the actual causes of vulnerability. But we are used to that.    

What we are unused to, however, is the removal of the façade that for so long as hidden the Left’s efforts at the banning, and even outright confiscation, of firearms from law-abiding citizens. 

Deerfield council votes to ban semi-automatic firearms

Deerfield village board voted unanimously to ban semi-automatic firearms Monday night

DEERFIELD - Monday night, a suburban village board northwest of Chicago voted to ban the possession, sale and manufacture of semi-automatic firearms. As of June 13, Deerfield residents will have 60 days to get rid of "assault" weapons or pay the city up to $1000 per day, the ordinance that passed with unanimous support says. 

The ordinance lists - "but not be limited to" - the following rifles, pistols and shotguns as banned "assault" weapons: 

Thorner/Ingold: Emotions a Poor Substitute for Common Sense in Confronting Gun Violence

Parkland students grieve after last week's shooting | ABC photo

By Nancy Thorner & Ed Ingold - 

It is not difficult to appreciate the initial remarks from President Trump on gun violence about the need to stop just talking about gun violence but instead do things that will make a difference; however, we need ideas that are implementable and supportable by reasonable people, not knee-jerk responses that pander to a political position but are not adaptable to actual actions that will lead to a solution.

Fox News on Wednesday morning highlighted students from the Florida high school where 17 students and teachers were killed expressing their “solutions” to gun violence. Their remarks reflected a Pollyanna world view, such as, if only there were no guns (or a certain gun), all the problems would go away. The unfortunate truth is that only a good guy with a gun can effectively stop a bad guy with a gun. That principle applies to warfare, and, too often, life on the streets. Before there were guns, there were swords, arrows, sticks, rocks, hands and feet. There has always been someone undeserving who wants what you have, where you live, or resents who you are, and is willing to kill to get their way.

Di Leo: Lessons to be learned from Third World tragedies and horrors

By John F. Di Leo - 

On Wednesday, February 21, a bus tumbled over a cliff in Peru, killing at least 44 passengers. The bus was traveling on a narrow but important highway, the Pan-American Highway in the state of Arequipa, and the news horrified the nation, as it came less than two months after another almost-identical bus crash on January 2, also killing dozens of victims, on the same stretch of highway, an area so serpentine that sections are known by names like “Devil’s Curve.”

Such events occur on a daily basis in the third world, but rarely make the international news.  Much of the world is arrayed with crumbling infrastructure – from weak bridges to pothole-ridden roads – so traffic accidents, caused not by driver error but the inherent danger of the road, is commonplace.

In the case of the Pan-American Highway, however, we’re talking about a major thoroughfare, one which, despite being only one lane in each direction for much of its most dangerous route, is an important highway, generally running parallel to the Pacific coast for much of Peru.   It has the occasional sign – “Drive Carefully!” – but no guardrails, or width, to help people accomplish such a worthy goal.

Thorner/Ingold: Do Researchers Disagree with Trump About Gun Laws?

By Nancy Thorner & Ed Ingold - 

As with every mass shooting, the mainstream media has been promoting the idea that Devin Patrick Kelly’s firearm was responsible for killing almost 30 people during a Sunday church service in Texas.

What they love to ignore, however, is the fact that the massacre ended early because an armed citizen decided to shoot back.

Di Leo: The Bill of Rights, and the Safety of a Nation Under Attack

 

By John F. Di Leo -

 

Another horrible shooting has the Left talking about gun control, as if people already in violation of tons of other laws would be dissuaded by one more.

 

So the Right responds by focusing on the Second Amendment, which is certainly legitimate and relevant, as it was intended to protect the American people from all manner of assaults, whether from a mugger in an alley, a street gang in the neighborhood, an enemy abroad, or a tyrant in our own capitol..

 

...but we often forget the relevance of another Amendment, the First, which is increasingly under assault, particularly in the context of current events:

 

We have a right to freely practice our religion. We have a right to freely assemble. These are natural rights, not given by government but by God.... and they are listed in the Bill of Rights to remind us all that our government has an obligation to protect these rights. Our government can pass no laws that would infringe upon our rights to freely assemble. Period.

Moms Demand to march for stricter gun control Thursday in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD - Moms promise to "take over" Springfield Thursday, demanding state lawmakers pass laws that will strengthen even more gun control in Illinois, one of the most gun-regulated states in the nation. 

One of the speakers expected at Thursday's rally at the Capitol is Lucy McBath, mother of a child slain by gunfire. 

"I want the NRA to hear loud and clear: Your dangerous agenda is not welcome here," McBath said at another recent rally. 

Thorner: "Gun Crowd's Guru" John Lott warns of "gun free zone" danger

By Nancy Thorner - 

Are you like many Americans concerned about your gun rights, as you have every right to be? The Second Amendment is considered to be one of the most important civil rights in the United States. This right has been under assault because liberals have long had an appetite to impose strict gun control measures.

John R. Lott, Jr., called by Newsweek the “Gun Crowd’s Guru,” addressed 80 members and friends of The Heartland Institute at its Arlington Heights headquarters on Wednesday, October 5. Lott’s talked about the issues raised in his new book, The War On Guns: Arming Yourself Against Gun Control Lies. Lott's comments took aim at well-funded anti-gun studies and stories that perpetuate false statistics in order to frighten Americans into giving up their guns.

Gun stocks surge as background checks hit all-time high

If you've got a few extra bucks to invest, Smith & Wesson's stocks are surging, thanks to a new all-time high in the number of background checks during the month of July ...

Shortly after the FBI announced July’s figures on Monday afternoon, shares in the second largest gun manufacturer hit $30.59 each. Smith & Wesson’s shares closed the day at an all-time high of $30.36, up 3% for the day and beating a previous record high of $29.37 set in March.

Shares in Sturm Ruger, the US’s largest gun maker, also surged on the news, ending the day up 2%, at $69.40.

A total of 2,197,169 firearms background checks were processed last month,according to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). That’s up from 1,600,832 background checks processed in July 2015 and 891,224 checks processed in July 2008, months before Barack Obama was elected president.

More at The Guardian

Starkehaus: Threats of violence against NRA listed on professor’s Facebook page

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

The website Campus Reform reported on July 6, 2016 that a professor at Southern State Community College in Ohio by the name of James Pearce had a stunning message posted on his Facebook page about the need for America to be a gun-free society. Quoting Professor Pearce's page:

"Look, there's only one solution. A bunch of us anti-gun types are going to have to arm ourselves, storm the NRA headquarters in Fairfax, VA, and make sure there are no survivors."

Pearce's page then went on to incite followers to coordinate such efforts with simultaneous attacks on Washington lobbyists who advocate for your Second Amendment rights:

"This action might also require coordinated hits at remote sites, like Washington lobbyists. Then and only then will we see some legislative action on assault weapons. Have a nice day."

Thorner/Ingold: Democrats use gun control to circumvent the real issue

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk voted the same on four gun control measures Monday

By Nancy Thorner & Ed Ingold - 

Democrats ripped Republicans on Monday evening, June 20, after lawmakers rejected gun control proposals approximately a week after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.  None of the four bills in introduced in the U.S. Senate in wake of the Orlando shooting  received enough votes to provide for cloture (that requires 60 affirmative votes to move the debate forward for a vote on the actually legislation).  You can see votes HERE.

Di Leo: "You Don't Need An AR-15"

By John F. Di Leo - 

“You don’t need an AR-15.”  After every shooting, we hear the presidents and governors and mayors repeat their call for “assault weapons bans”… because, as they say, “you don’t need an AR-15.” 

Or a Sig-Sauer, or an AK-47, or whatever weapon was used in whatever shooting was in the news.

And maybe they’re right.  You DON’T need an AR-15.

You could use a different weapon.  There are many.  Some are heavier, some are lighter.  Some more or less expensive, some better at longer or shorter distances.  Some fire less expensive ammunition so they’re more affordable for target practice; some fire more expensive ammunition to ensure a quick, clean kill when hunting deer, moose, or elk.  Some are more comfortable for tall shooters or for short ones; some are more suited to women, some to men.

There are so many brands and models; you don’t necessarily “need” the one that you “want.”  They are right about that, I suppose.

Know what else you don’t need?

Starkehaus: Seven conservative answers to questions raised by Orlando shooting

By Irene Starkehaus - 

In the aftermath of the Orlando Massacre committed by Omar Mateen in the early hours of June 12, 2016, it might behoove us to take the advice of John Kass (Chicago Tribune) and step away from the spin cycle just long enough to gain perspective before allowing ourselves to react. To paraphrase Kass, an emotional reaction is exactly what the enemies of liberty want. Don't give way to hotheaded and snarky retorts. They help no one but those on the wrong side of history.

The shock that the whole nation is experiencing right now is profound and rightly so. The evil that occurred at The Pulse Nightclub in Orlando utterly blisters the mind for a need to respond, and there's small hope of finding an angle to this event's reporting that isn't meant to demoralize and offend. Taking the time to center yourself before deciding what your response should be may not curtail these offenses, but it might bring forth a bit of clarity where chaos might otherwise prevail.

Would that religious and political leaders might take heed of Kass's advice before advocating for further controls over basic human rights and liberties. The world would be a better place without political opportunism. We can only hope that they mean no real harm and are just reacting out of a sense of helplessness or ignorance.

Chicago archbishop decries "easy access to deadly weapons" in Orlando shooting

CHICAGO - Chicago Archbishop  decried "easy access to deadly weapons" in his response to the shooting in Orlando early Sunday morning:

Our prayers and hearts are with the victims of the mass shooting in Orlando, their families and our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. 

We are grateful to the first responders and civilians who heroically put themselves in harm’s way, providing an enduring reminder of what compassion and bravery look like--even in the face of such horror and danger.

In response to hatred, we are called to sow love. In response to violence, peace. And, in response to intolerance, tolerance.

The people of the Archdiocese of Chicago stand with the victims and their loved ones, and reaffirm our commitment, with Pope Francis, to address the causes of such tragedy, including easy access to deadly weapons. We can no longer stand by and do nothing.

The Cardinal did not mention the killer's identification with radical Islam and ISIS, nor the Catholic Church's teachings against homosexuality. 

After Memorial Day, the number of people shot this year in his Chicago archdiocese stood near 1,500 — up more than 50 percent over last year - with 250 killed.

Proposed gun dealer bill would shut down most Illinois shops

 

Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords (l) and State Senator Don Harmon (podium)

 

SPRINGFIELD - Gun shops would have an array of new regulations that require expensive security systems that would put most of them out of business if legislation coming before the Illinois House passes this week, says the Illinois State Rifle Association.  

 

"Shops would be forced to deploy a long list of costly new business practices in order to maintain their licenses," an alert issued by the ISRA said over the weekend. "It is estimated that these new requirements would add at least $100 to the cost of firearm purchased from a licensed retailer."

 

Last week, former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords announced the “Illinois Gun Violence Prevention Coalition,” at a press conference at the Jesse White Community Center in Chicago. The new group signed onto State Senator Don Harmon's (D-Oak Park) effort.

Owning a gun could be reason to lose 2nd Amendment rights with proposed bill

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois House could vote on legislation next week that could remove Second Amendment rights if a person simply possesses a gun, and someone feels threatened by it, the Illinois State Rifle Association says.

"HB 3160 would allow an individual’s family members, law enforcement or roommates to petition the court for an ex parte restraining order if they consider the individual to be a danger to themselves or others simply because the individual owns, possesses or purchases a firearm," the ISRA says in an alert to its members.  

Starkehaus: Where exactly are checks and balances on executive orders?

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

"Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad," President Barack Obama cried out to his obedient sycophants in the MSM as he brushed the shimmering tear from his cheek before launching into his tinned "if we can save one child's life" homily that is inevitably trudged out to validate the escalating deterioration of the American legislative process.

With that, Barack Obama signed into existence his executive order on additional background checks for gun purchases that would delineate the powers of yet another extra-constitutional agency – this one we know as the ATF - thereby crowning himself Emperor and Chief with all the Napoleonic flair he could muster.

Starkehaus: Knowing the limits of the First Amendment in an anti-Christian America

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

The Leadership Institute under the banner of Campus Reform has a rather festive video that entertains what they describe as the Twelve Bans of Christmas. Sung to the tune of the Twelve Days of Christmas, Campus Reform documents twelve egregious anti-religion policies that have been put in place by universities throughout the country to protect the snowflake Millennials from exposure to oppressive Judeo-Christian hegemony:

It'd be so flipping adorable if it wasn't so flipping horrifying. This list, sadly, is not all inclusive and doesn't even necessarily document the worst offenses being forced upon students in the name of inclusion. Take as a for instance an event hosted by the Muslim Students Association at a Vernon Hills High School here in Illinois called "Walk a Mile in Her Hijab" where non-Muslim girls were recently taught proper etiquette and techniques for hiding their wicked, whorish hair for the greater glory of Allah. (For clarity, this was not an extracurricular activity.)

Starkehaus: Advice from the Left – Abandon your guns and your God. Let them take care of you.

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

Another mass shooting, another call for increased gun control, another proclamation from the podium that you – yes, you must pay for the evil that other men do.

So people are getting shot? And you no longer believe that a quick trip to the grocery store won't end with you dying in a pool of your own blood?

Well, what did you expect? It's your guns and your God and your big, fat mouths that are the problem here. You brought this upon yourselves because you won't accept new gun control laws; you won't reign in your political dialog about your First Amendment rights; and you won't hand over your existing guns so as to let the government sort out the possible dangers for you.

Hear ye! Hear ye! If you would simply curtail your free speech, your belief in the Judeo-Christian God of all creation and your exercise of your Second Amendment rights, people would stop shooting at you.

Just shut up and hand over your guns. The problem will be solved.

Di Leo: Murder, Motive and Challenging an Approach

By John F. Di Leo - 

September was another month of murders in Chicago.

We have seen the murder rate – and the attempted murder rate, too – skyrocket in recent years, in Chicago, Baltimore, New York, St. Louis … all homes of half a century or more of liberal policies, all laboratories of Leftist solutions, all booming centers of the modern welfare state and the omnipresent leviathan. How could this happen, we ask ourselves? Why is the murder rate up?

Starkehaus: Reflections on school shootings and conversations with our children

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

It's an odd dichotomy being a helicopter mom to teenagers in these ruthless days. I still feel this Rambo – First Blood type of protection for them.  It's present just under the surface of what the world views as serenity. I silently convulse somewhere between that instinctive need to block and tackle anyone who thinks he's going to mess with my kids versus letting my children go to become the adults that they need to be.

Odder still is the dialog that I had recently with these young adults – my children. In spite of the fact that I could have literally held them in the palm of my hand not so long ago, they now tower above me while still gazing down upon me like I have all the answers.

Given the subject matter, it turns out that I have very few tangible answers for them. Mostly, I have instructions.

Starkehaus: Being there – Recap of CPAC 2015

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

For those who have never been to an event like CPAC before, being there is very much like a Chauncey Gardiner experience. Countless people in attendance, including those in the audience, were there to be seen rather than to learn. What a thrill it was to be in a room with so many political masterminds who are the unique solution to everybody's problems. I don't know much about what CPAC was in the past, but in its current format, the event is more like an episode of the Bachelor than a concerted effort to showcase the rising stars and the cultural trends of conservative action. So many instructors. So few pupils.

So little genuine respect or awe for the wonder that is the great American experiment.

The real lesson of CPAC 2015 is that the conservative movement should end its manufacture of personality cults and get serious about the direction of the Republican Party. For all the people parading across the stage…and – wow – there are an ungodly number of people who feel entitled to the American presidency…only a few offered any substantive reason why they actually deserve the privilege.

Entitlement is the name of the game, I guess. What's sadly lacking in the process is the slightest bit of humility before the challenge of this historical imperative.

O'Brien: How George W. Bush Took it To the NORKS

By Teri O'Brien - 

If anything captures the state of a hobbled, declining America under President Payback, it is this headline from Friday's Wall Street Journal story about the cyber-terrorist attack by the North Koreans on Sony Pictures: "U.S. Struggles for Response to Hack." The story goes on to quote another hack, Obama spokes imbecile, the inappropriately named Josh Earnest, saying that the Regime is seeking a "proportional" response.  

History has shown that the Obama administration has a very twisted and skewed view of proportionality. Five Islamofascist terrorists for 1 deserter. Three citizens of a brutally repressive regime that harbors American fugitives who killed Americans, one of the three convicted of attempted murder, in exchange for an American hostage whose crime was trying to help the Cuban people get on the internet. A junk-science based "climate change" agreement with China, in which the U.S. agrees to strangle its economy by reducing its carbon emissions by at least 26% from 2005 levels, and the Chinese agree to a "target" of getting 20% of its energy from renewable sources by around 2030, maybe, if they feel like it. China builds one coal burning power plant a month, while Obama's war on coal has destroyed jobs and economic growth in some of the poorest regions of America. Just one month after this "historic" agreement, we learn about the North Korea cyber attack, an event that could not have been accomplished without the assistance of the Chinese. 

O'Brien: Time for a Criminal Investigation of the Obama Regime's Amnesty?

By Teri O'Brien - 

Seventy-three years ago yesterday, the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Today, our liberty hangs in the balance, but not due to any foreign threat, but because of the enemy within, the traitorous, corrupt media, enabling a lawless, gangsta regime, by running endless stories on the irredeemable racism of our country, most of which conflate the Garner case with the Michael Brown incident in Ferguson, Missouri.

As you well know, but for his race, Barack Obama would still be on a Chicago street corner with his clipboard and bullhorn, trying to stir up a sense of entitlement and rage among poor black people. So, the last thing he, and his fellow race baiters like Eric Holder, revered presidential advisor/tax cheat "Rev." Al Sharpton, and his repellant wife, Michelle "Black Solidarity" Obama, want is what Dr. King urged; that is, a society in which people are judged, not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.

If that lofty and admirable vision were to be realized, where does that leave this passel of mediocre, affirmative-action assisted jerks, all of whom are C players, at best? Their supporting that would make about as much sense as the CEO of McDonald's dreaming of everyone on the planet going vegan. Right on cue, the dead enders of the Occupy Wall Street and anti-globalization imbeciles display their ignorance and even stupidity, staging "die ins" by lying down in the street, and chanting irrational slogans like "Hands up. Don't Shoot," which are at war with the facts in the Ferguson case. Thought experiment: Obama's America, Mobocracy or Idiocracy? Discuss among yourselves.

O'Brien: Obama's Pen and Phone in Action

By Teri O'Brien -

Start spreading the news, or the plague. Thanks to the ideological fanaticism of the Obama Regime, the deadly Ebola virus has made it to New York City. Not to worry, though, as we are reminded by an endless parade of government apparatchiks. It isn't spread by "casual contact," and can be contracted only by those with direct exposure to the bodily fluids of someone with symptoms, but what does that mean? Bottom line: once again, we're being lied to.

In the interest of political correctness, Obama refuses to seal the border and stop the flights from the Ebola hot zone, and you don't have to french kiss an Ebola patient to have contact with bodily fluids. We'll explain how that could happen, and how you can protect yourself and your family.

O'Brien: Obama parties with celebs While Enterovirus kills American children

9-year-old patient Jayden Broadway of Denver is being treated for the enterovirus 68 

By Teri O'Brien - 

How many American children have died from the Enterovirus D-68, or do you call it the “Unaccompanied Alien Minors Virus?” Were illegal alien children shipped all over the United States after this past summer’s invasion to try to cover up the origin of these infections with a virus that hasn’t been seen in the U.S. since 1962, and which some experts consider more dangerous than Ebola? There is evidence that the answer is yes. 

Speaking of Ebola, the third-world plague that Obama was eager to see invade our country for reasons stated here, now a Dallas health care worker, probably a nurse, who took care of the late Liberian, Thomas Eric Duncan, is infected, despite taking every precaution recommended by “experts” from the federal government’s CDC. How could that happen? During a Sunday morning news conference on October 12, the CDC director stated that the cause was a "breach of protocol," while other experts are warning that it may too late to stop the spread of this disease in the U.S. If we had only listened to left-wing lunatic Rep. Alan Greyson. Even he could see back in July that we should have shut down flights from West Africa.

It looks like the One has found a worthy successor to his race-baiting disgrace of an Attorney General, Eric Holder, and he’s a doozy. Reports are that he will be named before the election, which is only 23 days away.

O'Brien: Eric Holder’s Legacy of Left-wing Lawlessness

By Teri O'Brien -

Now that Eric Holder has announced that he will step down once his successor has been named, it's time to review some of the greatest hits of his disgraceful tenure, from “race cowards” to his role in ginning up racial resentment in Ferguson, Missouri, and everything in between. Why did he resign now? What have Obama and Reid cooked up for the lame duck session of Congress?

Adieu Eric Holder, America's Historic, First Post-Constitutional Attorney General

By Teri O'Brien - 

I just looked at the monitor here in my office and saw two men making some sort of announcement, apparently at the White House. One was a man obsessed with America's irredeemable racism and contemptuous of the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution. The other was Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States, at least for the time being. Yes, Eric Holder has resigned, even though Mr. Holder shares Barack Obama's race fixation, which the president displayed again with a cringe-inducing reference to the events in Ferguson, MO during a speech at the United Nations on September 24, 2014. If, while watching that disgusting comment by America's president, you wondered what the robbery of a convenience market and local law enforcement's subsequent actions have to do with vicious, raping, head-chopping terrorists, you obviously don't get it. As Barack and Eric would explain, America sucks because it's racist. End of story, Bitter Clinger. That should have been the title of the book Bill Ayers wrote based on that shoebox of notes Obama dropped off at his house. 

An admitted and even proud activist first, and law enforcement officer second, Eric Holder is the perfect Attorney General for the Obama administration, not only because he shares Barack Obama's racialist views and his lack of appreciation for our Founding. Like Barack, he is also "historic." He is the only sitting Cabinet member to have been held in contempt of Congress, for his stonewalling on the Obama administration's despicable anti-2nd amendment racket, the Fast and Furious gun walking scheme. As you well know, that ill-advised policy resulted in the murder of Border Agent Brian Terry in December, 2010.

Di Leo: One Rogue Judge, and the Second Amendment’s Forgotten Roots

By John F. Di Leo - 

In the case of Kolbe et. al. versus O’Malley, a class of various American individuals, businesses, and associations rightly challenged Maryland’s outrageous 2013 law banning honest, law-abiding citizens from possessing – not just public carrying, but possessing – several classes of firearms, such as the AR-15, and weapons – even pistols! – that hold more than ten rounds.

The Federal District Judge hearing the case, a Clinton appointee named Catherine C. Blake, disregarded both legal precedent and two hundred years of scholarship, in holding, outrageously, that this blatantly unconstitutional state law was constitutional.

Judge Blake declared that AR-15s and similar weapons “fall outside Second Amendment protection as dangerous and unusual arms,” and therefore can be prohibited if a government wants to do so.

Starkehaus: Rauner’s moderate approach to abortion advocacy in Illinois

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

Being seen by all the very best people supporting the nation's only worthwhile woman's issue and establishing for once and all that he isn't one of those crazy "life" advocates… this is what we must surmise was the strategy of Bruce Rauner based on decisions that our Republican gubernatorial candidate made over the last week with regard to abortion advocacy.

By now we've all been dutifully reminded that Bruce Rauner never actually hid his support for a woman's right to kill her preborn child, so don't panic, conservatives. Remember the mantra. Bruce Rauner is the only Republican candidate for governor who can get Illinois back on track…Rauner's a moderate. He's not an extremist. He has no plans to make abortion an issue because the state has more pressing matters to which it must attend.

With all this practicality in mind, you obviously would never have seen Rauner at the Illinois Right to Life celebration that took place on May 8, 2014 featuring Mike Huckabee as the evening's keynote speaker. After all, any moderate will tell you that people who identify specifically as prolife come off as extreme to the average independent thinker, and it's not the message a sensible candidate would want to send to the voters of Illinois.

So the state's leading social moderate instead decided to emphasize his temperate leanings by attending the ACLUs Bill of Rights Dinner on May 10th with keynote speaker Jan Schakowsky:

"Congresswoman Schakowsky spoke with confidence that reproductive freedom will continue to be protected throughout the states," Ed Yohnka (communications director for the ACLU) said, alluding to ACLU-Illinois' success in warding off attempts to restrict abortion in Illinois."

I'll just bet she's confident. Do you know why Jan Schakowsky spoke with such affirmation about the ever expanding, unaccountable abortion rights in the United States? Because the Democrat Party isn't telling Jan Schakowsky to shut up every time she speaks on the subject of preborn baby killing. Her party staunchly supports her as she stands proudly for unrestricted abortion rights as if this is a conventional conversation to be having in very modern, very moderate Illinois politics.

O'Brien: Michelle's Latest Junket and The Politics of Black Skin Privilege

By Teri O'Brien - 

The Obamas, the most successful race hustlers in the history of this country, continue to play their skin game and exploit their black skin privilege, while the lap dog media continues to dangle shiny objects like the missing Malaysian aircraft, "March Madness," and bootleg butt injections (and you thought it was just Michelle's arms that people envied!) before the American people.

The use of huge posteriors to distract us from Moochelle's latest junket is not the only irony at play here. Yesterday, the First Klingon took a break from her opulent getaway to speak out in favor of free speech and religious freedom. Perhaps her husband's regime, who has unleashed the IRS on his political opposition and is currently in court trying to force religious institutions into violating their beliefs, could consider applying those fine noble principles here in the United States. Is there also a bit of irony in the fact that Michelle, who, along with the rest of this phony bunch, portrays herself as a champion of the "little guy" has a mother who apparently is terrorizing the staff at their Chinese luxury hotel?

O'Brien: Is Armstrong Williams the Latest Target of Obama Regime?

By Teri O'Brien - 

The Obama regime's M.O. is clear, and right out of the Chicago playbook,specifically, as Barack himself has said "punish your enemies," as in anyone who opposes the policies that our enlightened Dear Reader is trying to bestow on us.

Average citizens who dared to get involved with politics by forming and joining Tea Party groups, wealthy contributors to Mitt Romney, filmmaker, author and two-time Teri O'Brien Show guest Dinesh D'Souza all found them on the receiving end of harassment and intimidation from Obama's alphabet soup of tyranny. OSHA, the FEC, and most famously, the IRS have all been used by Obama and his lieutenants in their persecution campaign.

O'Brien: More Obamacare Horror Stories as Kiev, and the "Obama Doctrine" burns

By Teri O'Brien - 

No surprise. Justice Scalia was right.

Do you have the first clue of the depth of the sinister scheming that has gone on for years to destroy this country? Lawlessness abetted by an ignorant, uninterested public, dumbed down by government schools, at the mercy of activist liberal judges and agenda-driven “public interest” lawyers is helping the Left "transform" America, as our Dear Reader has promised.

As J.D. Longstreet so eloquently stated recently at teriobrien.com, it’s not possible to be free and ignorant.

Recently, two federal judges, one in Virginia, an unqualified appointee, who is like the man who appointed her, Barack Obama, an affirmative action beneficiary, and one in Utah, decided to blow their noses on the Constitution, the rule of law and federalism in the service of advancing so-called "same sex marriage." Who cares if the people of those states oppose that "forward" thinking idea? How did we get to the point in this country that federal judges could disregard the will of the people because of some supposed right to sodomy? To understand that, we have to connect some dots, and learn the shocking facts about the landmark case that set us down the road to Gomorrah. 

O'Brien: Usual Suspects Display Their Stunning Stupidity, Race-Baiting

By Teri O'Brien -

Happy President's Day Weekend, Comrades! To celebrate, we'll have an interview with Prof. Paul Kengor, connecting the red dots between Barack Obama, his card-carrying communist mentor Frank Marshall Davis and the rest of the pinko Chicago cabal, including David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett. (Also, today and tomorrow, to celebrate the holiday, you can download a free copy of The ABC's of Barack Obama: Understanding God's Greatest Gift to America. Details here. Grab it before you lose out!) 

O'Brien: The United States of Phillip Seymour Hoffman

By Teri O'Brien -

I wish I could take credit for that headline, but I can't. It comes from a spot-on piece that we will discuss on today's show, exploring the destruction of exceptional America, a takedown that was a fantasy shared by all of Barack Obama's communist mentors, from Frank Marshall Davis to Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright. Just as heroin addiction is a form of slow motion suicide, so is the gradual "remaking" of this country from one of proud, free men and women enjoying their God-given rights to a nation of supplicants, dependent on the government for subsidence the end of the country we grew up in.

In the wake of California's attempt to do an end run around the 2nd Amendment, Smith and Wesson and Sturm Ruger have elected to leave the state. What are they so upset about? More important, should you also be upset? We'll ask our guest, author and nationally-renowned 2nd amendment attorney David Hardy.

O'Brien: King Barack's Super Bowl of Deceit, Lies, and Broken Promises

NOTE: Teri's show will begin 1 hour earlier, at 3 pm Central, to make sure you're ready for kickoff

By Teri O'Brien -

Like most Americans, I love the Super Bowl, and I want to publicly declare here and now, that, despite years of warnings from feminists, I don't fear being slapped around by the Husband today. Their war on football is gaining traction, but for now, we can still enjoy the game. 

It's also Groundhog Day, which is an AWESOME movie, by the way, and in the age of the most lawless regime in American history, is also another way of saying it's another day. While the last century media wants to talk about Chris Christie, Justin Beiber and Amanda Knox, a leftist ideologue continues lying, shucking and jiving to accomplish his "remaking" of America. It's hard to keep track of all the lies and broken promises from the One, but since we watch so you don't have to, we'll remind you of some you may have forgotten, a veritable Super Bowl of lies. Speaking of how we watch so you don't have to, we witnessed Barack Obama's "virtual road trip" on Friday, a Google+ hangout. Based on what we saw there, and in the interview with CNN's Jake Tapper—and I know you may find it difficult to believe—but he may be talking out of both sides of his mouth on the issue of "comprehensive immigration reform." His PR flacks, sometimes called "journalists," are expressing despair after his latest borefest, last Tuesday's State of the Union speech. Is he a "shrinking president," playing small ball instead realizing his ambitious 1st-term agenda? That sort of thing happens when your approval rating drops into the high thirties, but there could be a lot more to it than that. We'll unpack it for you.

O'Brien: Hooray for Hollywood Hypocrisy

By Teri O'Brien - 

As they released this year's nominations this week, it's a good time to ask an obvious question. Does anyone really care about the Oscars anymore? It seems like they nominate about 75 different entries in every category, most of which very few people have seen.

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time shelling out $20 to go sit in what Jay Leno famously called "the concrete bunker" in the parking lot of the mall, listening to imbeciles talking on their cell phones or to each other, or turning around to see if a bomb is going off, only to see that the sound is actually an enormous porker opening his super-sized Twizzlers, especially since I know that in a few months I can watch the same thing in the comfort and privacy of my own home. The fact that most movies are a major disappointment doesn't inspire me to leave that comfort and privacy.

O'Brien: You Can't Make This Stuff Up. Blago Prosecutor Going After Christie.

By Teri O'Brien -

From the Chicago Sun-Times (H/T Rebel M):

Reid Schar, the lead prosecutor in Rod Blagojevich’s case, has been tapped to head up the investigation into allegations of political payback under New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s administration.

Schar, who left the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago and joined Jenner & Block, is serving as special counsel.

“We can confirm that the firm has been retained,” Phillip McGowan, Global Communications Manager, tells the Sun-Times, adding that Schar is serving as special counsel.…

Schar was the lead prosecutor in the trial and retrial of disgraced Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who is now serving 14 years behind bars after he was convicted of attempting to sell Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.

“It’s vital to have someone of the caliber of Mr. Schar joining us in this effort,” Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson/Bergen) said in a statement. “A potential misuse of taxpayer resources for political purposes is a serious matter that requires an astute legal eye with experience in this realm to help guide the process. I look forward to the assistance he will offer under the leadership of Chairman Wisniewski.”

Gee, you don't suppose--no, now I'm thinking like one of those black helicopter spotting, tinfoil hat wearing conspiracy theory believers, but here goes--is there any chance that someone in the Obama Regime has something to do with this appointment? It's probably just an amazing coincidence, and once again I am just confused.

O'Brien: Gender Neutral Snow Removal and Other Cultural Marxist Idiocy

By Teri O'Brien - 

During one of my first host appearances on Chicago's radio home for Rush Limbaugh, after which I would enjoy several years of terrestrial radio fun there, I expressed my disgust over the fact that feminists had sold young women a bill of goods. Misery loves company, after all, and this bitter, unattractive bunch, with their institutional-style haircuts and their sensible shoes, wanted to make sure if they couldn't get a date, none of us could. The ultimate gulag for women, they explained, was "patriarchy" as embodied by traditional marriage. Many young women dallied with this foolishness during their early twenties, but most outgrew it by graduation. Sadly, many of those who did not found themselves unhappy, lonely and confused as they approached age 40, despite their outward "success."

Today's guest, Chicago writer and school psychologist Bernard Chapin has addressed about the havoc the feminists have wreaked on society, both in his book, Women: Theory and Practice, and at his YouTube channel, Chapin's Inferno.