Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Anheuser Busch is being sued by top executive

ST. LOUIS, MO  – A former top executive at Anheuser Busch who is suing the brewery over pay discrimination found her testimony under attack by the beer giant`s lawyer Wednesday. Francine Katz said after six years as the chief spokesman for the firm and its vice president of communication and consumer affairs she was paid half the salary and bonus that her predecessor received. She also said her stock options were not as substantial as those received by John Jacob whose place she took.
Katz described their responsibilities as similar but not identical. She asked that she receive the title of Chief Communication Officer because she was carrying out that responsibility. But she testified she never received the title.

Katz`s attorney, Mary Anne Sedey objected several times when Jim Bennett representing Anheuser Busch tried to suggest Katz was lying. He repeatedly compared her recorded deposition to her testimony before the jury. Katz, who is also an attorney, told Bennett he was taking her words out of context. At one point he tried to catch her on a statement about when Jacob retired. Sedey complained he was using a court document that had been corrected and re-filed as an amended petition.

During Sedey`s questioning of her client she played multiple television stories in which Katz served as the national spokesman for Anheuser Busch on a range of controversial issues including underage drinking. Katz appeared on Sixty Minutes , NBC`s Today Show, CNN, FOX2 News and Dateline NBC. Katz testified she served as the company`s spokesperson from the early 19-90s until she left in 2008.

Sedey pointed out the spokesperson job was one Jacob never held. When she left the firm the news release issued by Anheuser Busch described her role as ‘chief communications officer,’ but it was not capitalized. Bennett jumped on that during cross examination pointing out the capitalized title was Vice President of Communications and Consumer Affairs. He also tried to show her pay was based on a comparison with top public relation executives at similar sized corporations.

Testimony showed after six years on the job she was paid $585,818 in salary and bonuses plus stock options. Her predecessor, John Jacob was paid 1.25 million dollars during his last full year on the job.

Katz will be back on the stand Thursday morning. Another female executive who served with Katz on the firm`s strategic planning committee will be called to testify.

Save the Lyons,Illinois Police Department - Rally to meet at 6 PM on May 7th, 2014 at Christie Ave & Lawndale Ave in Lyons, IL (Lyons Village Hall)

Actor Dies at 71

Actor Bob Hoskins, who was best known for roles in The Long Good Friday and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, has died of pneumonia at the age of 71.

His agent said he died on Tuesday in hospital, surrounded by family.

The star won a Bafta and was Oscar nominated in 1987 for crime drama Mona Lisa, in which he starred opposite Sir Michael Caine and Robbie Coltrane.

He announced he was retiring from acting in 2012 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Bob," the actor's wife Linda and children Alex, Sarah, Rosa and Jack said in a statement.

"Bob died peacefully at hospital last night surrounded by family, following a bout of pneumonia.

"We ask that you respect our privacy during this time and thank you for your messages of love and support."
Hoskins started out on the stage before embarking on a television and film career.

On the small screen, he appeared in shows such as Play for Today, On the Move, Van der Valk and BBC drama The Street.

On film, his credits also included Mermaids, Hook, Mrs Henderson Presents and Made in Dagenham.

His last film role was in 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman.

Hoskins was Bafta nominated twice prior to his Mona Lisa win, for The Honorary Consul in 1984 and The Long Good Friday in 1982.

He was also nominated for a television Bafta for his role in Dennis Potter's BBC musical drama. Pennies from Heaven.

Tributes to the actor have appeared swiftly on Twitter with Bafta saying it was "deeply saddened" to learn of his death.

Stephen Fry added: "That's awful news. The Long Good Friday [is] one of the best British movies of the modern era. A marvellous man."

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Two death row chimps think they should know the drug that will kill the U.S. Supreme Court says no UPDATE:

Oklahoma authorities stopped one execution Tuesday and postponed another after botching the delivery of drugs.

Convicted murderer Clayton Lockett was sedated and then given the second and third drugs in the protocol, Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton told reporters.

"There was some concern at that time that the drugs were not having the effect, so that doctor observed the line and determined that the line had blown," he said.
When asked what he meant by "blown," Patton said that Lockett's vein had "exploded."

"I notified the attorney general's office, the governor's office of my intent to stop the execution and requested a stay for 14 days for the second execution scheduled this afternoon," said Patton.Lockett later suffered what appeared to be a heart attack and died, the director said.

Star Wars News

The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII.

Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

Director J.J. Abrams says, "We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud."

Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer
Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.
Director J.J. Abrams says, "We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud."
Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer. The movie opens worldwide on December 18, 2015.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Police slam 70 year old woman

Copy and paste this link and watch how cops take a 70 year old woman who is not cuffed and slam her to the ground.

http://youtu.be/234xjgUI1XY

Nigglet rap star trampled U.S. flag


Those of you who follow rap know that Lil’ Wayne is one of those rappers that hip media critics love to love. Despite his problems with drugs and weapons (with the latter problem landing him in jail for eight months

, they think he’s amazing.

These same mainstream media critics probably won’t have a problem, then, with Lil’ Wayne’s latest video for his song titled (ironically, of course) “God Bless America.” During the video, the felonious rapper stomps on the American flag.

His disrespect for the flag is consistent with his lyrics: “My country, tis of thee / Sweet land of kill them all and let them die / So God bless America, this so Godless America.”

Whether this is a pose or something he truly believes doesn’t matter. What matters is that this is the kind of poisonous claptrap the mainstream media and entertainment industry feed to America’s impressionable young.

Watch for your self.

Lil Wayne nothing but a disrespecting bitch.

Lil Wayne you need a ass kicking. First those colors never touch the ground second bitch you don't use it like a carpet.  Your ignorant and effective immediately your songs and your friends songs shouldn't be played on the radio. Even if you did a public apology it wouldn't be accepted but you know would the military kicking your ass as your public apology.  Your nothing but a banana eating porch ape that needs to be beat and caged.


The link below please cut and past and watch for your self what this Fuck wade does.

Lil Wayne STEPS ON American Flag! God Bless Ameri…: http://youtu.be/u5M5Dd0_Xc4

Friday, April 25, 2014

Female sexually assaulted by gun wheeling chimp

A woman was sexually assaulted Thursday morning on a jogging and cycling trail near a Metra station in south suburban Matteson — an incident that could be related to attacks on women in nearby suburbs, police say.

Matteson police received a call about the rape along Old Plank Road Trail between Main Street and Homan Avenue at 5:30 a.m.

A 34-year-old woman who was walking to the nearby Metra station from her home in Park Forest was grabbed and raped along the trail. Her attacker then fled the scene on foot. She was taken to a hospital to be treated for her injuries.

Matteson police and Cook County Sheriff’s deputies were conducting an investigation, and were combing the scene for evidence Thursday morning. Police cordoned off a block-long stretch of the trail as they searched for evidence.

The attack follows several incidents in Park Forest and Richton Park.

On Tuesday, a man grabbed two women at two different locations within a 90-minute time frame: one in Park Forest on Rich Road and one in Richton Park on Sauk Trail near Richton Square Road. All three of these most recent incidents have been in the morning hours.

The Park Forest Police Department additionally continues their investigation into four previous incidents where a man has grabbed or battered young women in since March. Those incidents occurred in Winnebago Park, on Westwood Drive at Winnebago Street, on Sangamon Street at Shabbona Drive, and on the 300 block of Windsor Street.

Police can’t say if all the incidents are connected. A $500 reward remains for any information provided to police which results in the arrest of an offender in any of the incidents.

Residents where the Matteson attack occurred said officers were using dogs to pick up the rapist’s trail.

Police recovered a cell phone near the scene, along with articles of clothing that were strewn around the area.

The attack left local residents worried, especially in light of the fact four unsolved sexual assaults have occurred in neighboring Park Forest in the past two months.

“I just hope they get him because … this is really a shame,” said Navarra Scott. “I’ve seen those flyers for like a month-and-a-half, and it’s crazy that you just can’t walk out here and just be safe.”

Police said it’s too soon to know if Thursday’s attack was connected to the Park Forest sexual assaults.

The rapist was described as a clean-shaven African American male in his late 20s to early 30s, standing approximately 5’10”, weighing about 180 pounds, with short hair, calloused hands, and a medium brown complexion. He was wearing a black hooded nylon jacket with a white zipper, dark denim jeans, and worn dark gym shoes.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Chicago Political mess becomes your garbage problem

Chicago residents may soon be paying more for garbage to help pay for the city's pension mess.

The city faces a $600 million pension payment this year to stabilize the pensions being paid to police and firefighters.

Therefore, the city council is considering a monthly fee for garbage collection, just like homeowners in the suburbs. The fee could run anywhere from $10 to $20 a month.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has rejected the idea. He is pushing a $250 million property tax increase instead.

C.P.D. Top cop down plays homicides in Chicago

If you read the headlines out of Chicago this past Easter weekend -- more than 40 shot, including nine killed -- you might be surprised to learn that the city's homicide rate is still trending downward, according to the police chief.

Yes, that's right:  Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told WGN Radio this week that Chicago's homicide rate is "still ahead of where we were last year, which was a record."  The number of homicides in Chicago last year dropped to 415, compared to 503 in 2012, an 18% drop.  That lower level hasn't been seen since 1965.

"A week doesn't wipe out two years of progress," McCarthy told WGN Radio's Steve Cochran in an interview Monday. "We always knew that we're going to have good days and we're going to have bad days, we've just got to make sure we're having more good days than bad."

But does a lower murder rate really matter in Chicago, where such rampant gun violence has earned the city the nickname "Chiraq"?

"People always say, 'I don't feel much better, even though shootings might be down by 40%,'" McCarthy told CNN.  "Well, the reason for that is kind of simple. If you have 10 shootings in your neighborhood last year, and you have six shootings in your neighborhood this year, do you feel 40% better? Absolutely not."

There are some Chicago neighborhoods -- poorer, less educated, predominantly African-American and infested with gangs -- that have murder rates 10 times higher than other Chicago areas. 

McCarthy says the news coverage of shooting incidents like the ones that took place last weekend doesn't paint a complete picture of the police response.

"We are getting out in front of a lot of shootings," the police chief told CNN.  "It's hard to see success sometimes when you have a spate of shootings."

Chicago's gun violence typically heats up as the temperature rises, so the police department has banked some overtime to deploy more officers to the city's trouble spots.

In the meantime, McCarthy is using the unwanted attention around the bloody Easter weekend to push legislators to pass gun control laws that he says will help police turn things around in Chicago.

"It's just insanity that there's such a proliferation of firearms that they're so easy to get your hands on," McCarthy told WGN Radio on Monday.  "The studies show when there's more restrictive gun laws, there's less gun violence.  It's not brain surgery, it's really really simple.

"It's going to take us a while to fix poverty and the break-up of the family units and education and jobs.  But we can do something about gun laws today and we're just not doing it."

That may be an uphill climb:  In February, a federal judge struck down Chicago's ban on gun sales, saying it went "too far in outright banning legal buyers and legal dealers from engaging in lawful acquisitions."  And in 2010, the Supreme Court declared Chicago's 28-year-old handgun ban unconstitutional. 

Making it even more difficult, last year, Illinois became the 50th state to allow its residents to carry concealed weapons after a veto from its governor failed to kill the legislation.

McCarthy may get some limited help from the feds at least in keeping repeat criminals off the street: the office of newly appointed U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon announced Monday the creation of a violent crimes section to focus on how to more effectively use federal statues to prosecute those behind Chicago's gun violence, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Shortly after Rahm Emanuel took over as Chicago's mayor in early 2011, he brought in McCarthy, who had previously led the police force in Newark, New Jersey.  A year into McCarthy's term, he was hailed as a hero. 

Then, the city's homicide rate skyrocketed at end of 2012 and there were calls for McCarthy's resignation.

As the murder rate started to drop, those calls abated -- but Chicago's police and city leaders, particularly Rahm Emanuel, still face a lot of criticism for not doing enough.

McCarthy, a regular on CNN's original series "Chicagoland," has admitted that the city "has one of the worst, most difficult, most intractable gang violence problems in the country."

And he's made it clear that his top priority is "dealing with gangs, guns and the press.""The media, they keep talking about the rising toll of gun violence in Chicago while the numbers are going in the other direction," McCarthy said last year.

Tempe Police arrest 30 sick fucks for child prostitution

Tempe Police Department detectives have reportedly arrested 30 people involved in a prostitution sting.

According to a news release, detectives conducted a long investigation of human trafficking and prostitution. They were targeting suspects soliciting underage girls for sex acts, females soliciting sex and those acting as pimps.

Police say they have made 16 prostitution arrests and 14 child prostitution.

During the investigation, detectives contacted women online that had created escort ads. They later found that these women were offering sexual favors in exchange for money, according to police.

Detectives also posed as underage girls who were requested for sexual favors.

No other information has yet been released.

Phoenix Police looking for two banana eating apes that robbed pharmacist

A Valley pharmacist is speaking out after his former store was robbed by suspects who police say have struck several times since last year.

Chris Griffee told ABC15 he was the pharmacist at a small store in the West Valley when he was robbed last October.

Griffee said the suspect went into the store and locked the door behind him before showing the staff a stun gun and demonstrating that it worked by turning it on behind the back of a co-worker.

The suspect also displayed a handgun.

Another suspect waited in a car outside the store. Police say the vehicle is a white 4-door Lexus with a partial license plate number of 398.

The suspect demanded and was given oxycodone, Griffee said.

Griffee said he has a friend who was robbed at another small pharmacy and eventually got out of the retail pharmacy business.

Griffee said he believes the suspects target small pharmacies to avoid having to make the long walk through larger stores to reach their pharmacies, and that in those stores there are more chances they’d be caught on surveillance video.

Police say the suspects have committed 12 armed robberies at small “mom and pop” pharmacies throughout the Valley since last July.

The most recent robbery occurred on April 5 in north Phoenix.

The Phoenix Police Department and Silent Witness are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrests and prosecution of the suspects.

Anyone with information about the suspects or robberies is urged to call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS to remain anonymous.

Blue Angeles get caught with their Dick in hand

A former commander of the popular Navy flying team the Blue Angels allowed and sometimes encouraged the sharing of porn and sexually explicit humor in the workplace, Navy officials alleged Thursday.

Court documents reveal new details about the allegations that caused a top U.S. Navy officer from Coronado Naval Base to be relieved of duty Friday.

Capt. Gregory McWherter was removed from his post as executive officer of Naval Base Coronado because of alleged misconduct while he was commanding officer of the Blue Angels precision flying team.

McWherter is accused of allowing and in some cases encouraging "lewd speech, inappropriate comments, and sexually explicit humor" in the workplace, according to a Navy statement released Thursday.

While McWherter was commanding officer of the precision flying team sometimes called the "Blues," officials claim "pornographic images were displayed in the workplace and shared in electronic communications" according to the statement.

The allegations refer specifically to the period when McWherter served as Blue Angels commanding officer, from November 2008 to November 2010 and again from May 2011 to November 2012.

The probe, led by an admiral who the Navy declined to identify, began in March and results from a complaint filed by one person, officials said Friday.

McWherter has been temporarily reassigned to Naval Air Forces in San Diego

An after-hours call from the Associated Press to the media office to leave a message seeking comment from McWherter was not immediately returned.

"All Navy leaders, whether assigned to a highly visible unit like the `Blues,' or to our installations, squadrons, ships and submarines, are held to the highest standards," Vice Admiral David Buss, commander of the Naval Air Forces, said in the statement.

"The Navy expects everyone, from those officers in command positions to sailors on the waterfront, to provide principled and highly ethical leadership, stressing discipline, accountability, and the importance of treating shipmates with dignity and respect."

Bundy Saga continues

LAS VEGAS -- Nevada lawmakers and the public are speaking out about racist comments rancher Cliven Bundy said in a New York Times article published Wednesday.

The comments were made as Bundy addressed a group of his supporters who have gathered in Bunkerville. Here is an excerpt from the New York Times story. "I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro," he said. Mr. Bundy recalled driving past a public-housing project in North Las Vegas, "and in front of that government house the door was usually open and the older people and the kids - and there is always at least a half a dozen people sitting on the porch - they didn't have nothing to do. They didn't have nothing for their kids to do. They didn't have nothing for their young girls to do.

"And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do?" he asked. "They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I've often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn't get no more freedom. They got less freedom."

His comments have outraged the public and Nevada politicians.

U.S. Nevada Representative Steven Horsford called the remarks "truly hateful.""His despicable comments about 'the Negro' belong in the dustbin of history. He is not a man who represents the American West's way of life or the dignity of our hard-working Nevada ranchers. In reality, he is a lawbreaker who has been elevated to national folk hero by a conservative media that will jump at any opportunity to mold an anti-government zealot into a righteous crusader."

Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, who has spent time at Bundy's ranch with the supporters, issued the following statement:

"I strongly disagree with Cliven Bundy's comments about slavery. Mr. Bundy has said things I don't agree with; however, we cannot let this divert our attention from the true issue of the atrocities BLM committed by harming our public land and the animals living on it."

U.S. Senator Harry Reid called Bundy a "hypocrite" and "racist."

"I used to live in North Las Vegas and it is home to some of the hardest-working people I have ever met – men and women who embody the American dream by working hard every day to build a better life for themselves and their families. By contrast, Cliven Bundy has spent decades profiting off government land while refusing to pay the same fair use fees as his fellow ranchers."

U.S. Senator Dean Heller said he "condemns Bundy's racist statements in the most strenuous way."

Bundy has gained national attention in recent weeks concerning a legal battle over cattle grazing rights . Rangers with the Bureau of Land Management, acting on a court order, attempted to remove Bundy's cattle from the public land. The cattle have been illegally grazing on the government's property for 20 years. Bundy claims he has "ancestral rights" to use the property.

Supporters, including armed militia , from around the country came to Bundy's defense and disrupted the BLM from continuing the roundup of the cattle. BLM officials called off the roundup out of concerns for safety .

The statements created a firestorm on social media with some condemning Bundy and others posting comments that the "liberal media" has twisted Bundy's words.

"We KNOW how it was meant....they are twisting it to make him look bad...thats all...but we know the truth," Melinda Wright III posted on the Bundy Facebook page .

"That's right ... play the racism card and distract folks from the REAL issue ... an overreaching government and overreaching bureaucratic nightmare that needs to be squelched ... stay on point folks!" Art Vuilleumier wrote.

Swat team goes after desert ape

LAS VEGAS -- The SWAT situation in a Desert Shores neighborhood ended peacefully at around 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

According to police, officers arrested the suspect without incident. The whole thing started when police said they received calls around 7 a.m. that a man was wandering in the neighborhood northwest of Buffalo Drive and Lake Mead Boulevard armed with a knife and talking to himself.

Police said they attempted to subdue the man using non-lethal tactics, but the man fled through several yards and scaled a wall to the roof of a home on Secret Harbor Court. Police surrounded the home and evacuated nearby residents. SWAT was also called in.

The man refused police commands to get off the roof for several hours. Witnesses said he taunted police and waved the knife around. At one point, he threw a roof tile at one officer on the ground.

Illinois doesn't have a death penalty but this Zion chimp has a date with the grim reaper

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A government lawyer argued today that Jorge Torrez deserves the death penalty, calling him a remorseless serial killer who brutally murdered two young girls in Zion, Ill.

A jury now is considering whether Torrez, 25, a Zion native, should be put to death or be sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole.

Making a closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Trump condemned Torrez as a man who didn’t care about six female victims – three of whom were slain – but who regarded them as "prizes" or "trophies."

The Zion victims were Krystal Tobias, 9, and Laura Hobbs, 8.

Trump said that "this little man – this coward – can’t admit he brutally murdered two little girls" for sexual gratification.

Both Hobbs and Tobias were stabbed repeatedly in Beulah Park on Mother’s Day in 2005. Testimony in the case indicated that semen had been recovered from Hobbs’ body and clothing, tying Torrez to her fatal stabbing.

"This is no room for doubt," Trump said,  "Jorge Torrez deserves to die."

Torrez instructed his three defense lawyers to say nothing on his behalf during the penalty phase of the case, which arises from the strangulation murder of a sailor near the Pentagon in July 2009. Torrez was a Marine then. He was convicted of her murder April 8, but has not yet been tried for the Illinois crimes.

Already he is serving five life sentences plus 168 years for the northern Virginia attacks on the three surviving victims.

The jurors were excused from court to begin deliberations at 9:15 a.m. Chicago time today. The trial is taking place in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Torrez initially avoided suspicion after the Zion killings. Instead, Hobbs’ father, Jerry Hobbs, confessed to the crime following questioning that stretched across 24 hours, an admission he later said police coerced. Jerry Hobbs was freed after about five years when DNA was linked to Torrez.

102 year old professional ball player dies at the age of 102

The oldest former player with Major League Baseball, Conrado "Connie" Marrero, has died at home in Havana at the age of 102.

Marrero first made his name in Cuba the 1930s - but went on to have a late career surge in Washington in the 50s.

He was also a hero in his home country, where he returned after the 1959 revolution.

Marrero's death, confirmed by relatives, came just two days before his 103rd birthday.

'Living legend'

Marrero debuted for the Washington Senators at the relatively old age of almost 39, a signing initially dismissed as a joke, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Havana.

One writer described him as a cross between a crazy windmill and a duck flying backwards, our correspondent says.
But despite his years, his short stature, and unorthodox style, Marrero soon won over fans and critics alike.

Renowned for his love of cigars and constant wisecracks as well as his game, the pitcher returned to Cuba after retiring and was still working as a coach into his 90s.

Baseball remains Cuba's most popular sport.

And as one of players who stayed in the country after the revolution, Marrero is viewed as a link between the old professional Cuban League and post-revolution amateur Cuban national baseball system.

"He was a living legend of Major League and also for baseball in Cuba before the revolution," baseball fan Manuel Gallego told the Associated Press.

Two death row chimps think they should know the drug that will kill the U.S. Supreme Court says no

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled two death row inmates have no right to learn the source of the drugs to be used to kill them, clearing the way for their execution.

Clayton Lockett, 38, and Charles Warner could be executed on 29 April.

Lawyers for the two argued they needed assurance the executions would not be botched with impure or expired drugs.

Last month, a judge ruled a law guarding the secrecy of the drugs' source was unconstitutional.

But on Wednesday, the state's highest court reversed that ruling.

"The plaintiffs have no more right to the information they requested than if they were being executed in the electric chair," Justice Steven Taylor wrote.

"If they were being hanged, they would have no right to know whether it be cotton or nylon rope; or if they were being executed by firing squad, they would have no right to know whether it be by Winchester or Remington ammunition," he added.

Gasped and choked

The court rulings come as US states are having increasing trouble obtaining drugs used in executions, amid an embargo from European pharmaceutical firms.

Critics say the states that are experimenting with other drugs risk botching executions and causing unnecessary suffering.

In January, for example, an execution in Ohio took 25 minutes to complete, as the inmate reportedly gasped and made choking noises in the moments before he was pronounced dead.

The state used two untried drugs to kill convicted murderer and rapist Dennis McGuire after the maker of the previous execution drug refused to allow its use.

Oklahoma state law blocks officials from revealing - even during court proceedings - the identities of the companies supplying the drugs used to sedate the inmates, paralyse their respiratory systems, and stop their hearts.

The challenge to Oklahoma's law was brought by Lockett, who was sentenced to death for the 1999 shooting of a 19-year-old woman, and Warner, who was convicted for the 1997 murder and rape of an 11-month-old girl.

The state said on 1 April that the men would be executed using midazolam, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride - a combination never before used in Oklahoma, according to the Associated Press.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Freehold, N.J. sues over God in pledge

From USA TODAY Family sues district over 'under God' in pledge FREEHOLD, N.J. — A family is suing the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District and its superintendent, seeking to have the phrase "under God" removed from the Pledge of Allegiance that students recite every day. A lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Monmouth County on behalf of the family, who wish to remain unidentified, and the American Humanist Association claims that the practice of acknowledging God in the pledge of allegiance discriminates against atheists, in violation of New Jersey's constitution. But the school district's attorney says the district is simply following a state law that requires pupils to recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily. http://usat.ly/1iF4FRX Get USA TODAY on your mobile device: http://www.usatoday.com/mobile-apps

Detroit Apes stand trial

A Detroit judge has said four men accused in a mob beating of a driver who hit a young child will stand trial for attempted murder.

Police say Latrez Cummings, 19, Wonzey Saffold, 30, James Davis, 24, and Bruce Wimbush Jr, 17, have all acknowledged a role in the beating of Steve Utash.

The 54-year-old was unconscious for several days after the attack. The young boy he hit suffered a leg injury.

Defence lawyers for the accused say the attempted murder charge is too severe.

But Judge Thomas Jackson disagreed, while noting the threshold for moving the case along is lower than proving the case at trial.

"One or two may not be enough to kill anyone," he said of the alleged blows from the four men, "but a combination may be enough to cause one's death."

'I lost it'

In court on Monday, witnesses to the attack described a chaotic scene after Mr Utash hit the boy and left his lorry to check on the 10-year-old.

"They were hollerin' and screamin', 'Oh, my God, get him, get him'," witness Deborah Hughes said.

Ms Hughes, who is credited with intervening and ending the beating, said Mr Cummings kicked Mr Utash at least 10 times.

Another witness, Ashley Daniels, said the 54-year-old tree-trimmer had stumbled after some early blows and was dared to pick up his hat, which had fallen off.

"He fell. He got up again," she said. "It was like he was almost accepting it."

Prosecutors say the four accused men have acknowledged some role in the beating
One witness refused to testify during the hearing on Monday and was jailed, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Prosecutors also showed statements by the accused made to the police after their arrest. Three of the four men allegedly told investigators they recognised the hurt boy.

"I saw the little boy on the ground... and I lost it," Mr Saffold told investigators.

Mr Cummings also allegedly acknowledged a role, prosecutors said, telling police he "prayed for the man every day. I hope him and the boy are going to be OK."

The Utash family sat in the front row of the court while relatives of the accused sat directly behind them, according to the Associated Press news agency, which reported several spectators were ejected from the courtroom after several loud comments.

Mr Utash's son has told a local radio station he believed the attack was racially motivated. The 54-year-old is white and the alleged attackers are black.

Outside court, Mr Utash's brother-in-law Max Mohr said his family member is struggling and disoriented.

"He's not the Steve I know - not even close," Mr Mohr told the Associated Press news agency, adding Mr Utash had tried to walk with the help of nurses but only moved a few steps.

A 16-year-old has also been charged with assault and ethnic intimidation in connection with the case.

Detroit, a sprawling but increasingly empty city which recently filed for bankruptcy, has seen a 40% reduction of police staffing in the past 10 years. The city's police chief told residents earlier this year that arming themselves could help deter crime.

Animals steal car and drives in to Fox River in South Elgin

No one was found inside a stolen car spotted submerged in the Fox River in Elgin this morning, officials said.

The Elgin Fire Department received a call around 6:10 a.m. and discovered the car just south of I-90 near Duncan Road along the river, officials said.

Elgin and South Elgin fire department divers reached the car as crews worked to tow it to shore.

Elgin Assistant Fire Chief Dave Schmidt said no one was found inside, and the car had been reported stolen from out of town.  He had no other details.

Flossmoor chimp was brought back to his cage after shooting 2 teens in South Chicago

A south suburban Flossmoor man has been charged in the fatal shooting of two teens Saturday morning on the South Side.

Justin Hamilton, 23, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He’s accused of killing 16-year-old Jordan Means and 18-year-old Anthony Bankhead, according to a statement from Chicago Police.

Police found Bankhead and Means shot to death in the basement of a building in the 8200 block of Houston Avenue shortly after 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

Both died of gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Hamilton is scheduled to appear in bond court Tuesday.

On Saturday, Means’ mother, Camille Cochran, told the Chicago Sun-Times that the shooter and her son had exchanged words on Facebook.

“An argument led to this, that’s crazy,” said Cochran, 42. “Now, I don’t have my son no more.”

Chicago Police did not confirm the details provided by Cochran.

According to the medical examiner’s office, Bankhead lived in the home he was killed in, and Means lived less than two blocks away.

Chicago gun grabbing Ape shoots up South Shore to show he is king gorilla of the wild

Two teenage boys were wounded — one critically — in a shooting Monday night in the South Shore neighborhood.

The boys, ages 14 and 16, were standing on the sidewalk in the 1600 block of East 69th Street about 9:35 p.m. when they were shot, police said.

They were taken to the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital. The 14-year-old, who was shot in the back, was listed in critical condition, and the 16-year-old suffered a gunshot wound in his upper right thigh, police said.

No one was in custody. Area Central detectives were investigating.

Skokie man sues over denial of concealed carry permit

A 69-year-old Skokie man filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court claiming the state unconstitutionally denied him a permit to carry a concealed gun.

John Berron applied for a concealed carry permit on Jan. 5. He got a letter on March 19 that said that the Illinois Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board received an objection to his application and found he was ineligible for a permit. The Illinois State Police denied his application on that date.

Berron wasn’t told why his permit was denied, said his attorney, J.D. Obenberger.

Court records show he was arrested in 2000 for resisting a police officer and criminal damage to property, both misdemeanors. He was convicted and received court supervision.

In 2006, he was arrested once again for resisting a police officer and criminal damage to property. He was convicted and received conditional discharge for resisting a police officer and was ordered to pay a $200 fine and more than $1,400 in restitution for the property damage, records show.

Berron claims the state violated his right to due process in denying his concealed carry application without allowing him to present his case to the licensing board. He’s asking the court to overturn his denial and give him a concealed carry permit.

“This isn’t a privilege, it’s a constitutional right,” Obenberger said.

Obenberger said the state began issuing concealed carry permits only after a federal appeals court ruled the constitution includes the right to carry handguns outside the home for the purpose of self-defense.

Obenberger called the rules surrounding Illinois’ issuing of concealed carry permits an illegal “smell test.”

“If the police chief doesn’t like you, he can object to you,” Obenberger said.

Berron is suing the state licensing board, the state police and the village of Skokie.

Berron holds a state firearm owner’s identification card, which allows him to own a gun.

To receive a FOID card, an applicant can’t have any felony convictions or have been institutionalized for mental illness. Concealed carry permit applicants must have a FOID card.

The concealed carry law took effect in early January. The law allows law-enforcement agencies to file objections to applications — and the Illinois Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board decides whether those objections should result in the rejection of a permit.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Chicago police have to many Animals lose to cage. U. S. Attorney orders federal agencies to take charge

The U.S Attorney's Office in Chicago announced today the creation of a specialized unit with a mission to help rein in the city's rampant violent crime. The Violent Crimes section, which began operations on April 1, is staffed by 16 prosecutors focusing solely on how federal statutes can be used to go after violence, said Randall Samborn, spokesman for U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon. Samborn said prosecutors will use drug and gun statutes as well as extortion and money laundering laws to go after criminal crews responsible for violent acts. Picked to head the section was Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron DeWald, a former deputy chief of the office's narcotics division. DeWald is also a former Cook County prosecutor who throughout his career has worked closely with Chicago police and other law enforcement agencies, Samborn said. The move is part of a larger restructuring of the office's approximately 160 prosecutors and $34 million budget undertaken by Fardon, who took office in the fall. Other changes include the creation of a specialized securities and commodities fraud section as well as stepping up efforts to combat the growing problem of cybercrime, Samborn said. The formation of the violent crimes section-- which was spun off of the larger narcotics and gangs unit -- comes as Fardon and other law enforcement leaders have come under increasing pressure to do something about the city's seemingly intractable gang and gun culture that leads to the much of the violence. "This is putting a group of talented attorneys together and telling them that their mission is to help the city and the district tamp down violent crime...and to use all the tools and strategies at their disposal that are going accomplish that mission," Samborn said.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Bank held up in Austin Neighborhood

2 black guys walk in to a bank flash a gun and pass a note while a armed guard sits and watches. C.P.D. notified and show no report was taken and they failed to notify the F.B.I. says field agent from the Chicago office. 

Update :
April 20, 2014 (CHICAGO) -- Authorities are investigating a Saturday morning bank robbery at a BMO Harris Bank branch in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side.

The robbery happened at 10:57 a.m. at the branch at 4959 W. North Ave., according to the FBI.

Authorities are searching for two male black suspects described as being between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-10 with brown eyes, the FBI said. One suspect was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, black skull cap and blue jeans, and the other was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt.

The suspects displayed a handgun, the FBI said. Anyone with information on the robbery should call the FBI at (312) 421-6700.

2 monkeys found dead in the 8200 block S. Houston

April 19, 2014 (CHICAGO)  -- It was a violent start to the weekend in Chicago. Five people were gunned down, including two teenagers found shot to death in a basement apartment in the South Chicago neighborhood.

Since Friday night, 12 people have been wounded and five people killed in shootings all across Chicago. Three of those shootings were on the West and Near West Sides. The two teenagers were killed in the 8200 block of South Houston.

A family was left in shock as weekend violence erupted in their South Chicago neighborhood, claiming the life of 16-year-old Jordan Means and another teen.

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"I'm really ready to leave Chicago and go south or something. Enough is enough," said Octavia Fuller, family friend.
The gruesome discovery was made around 10:30 Saturday morning inside a basement apartment near 82nd and Houston after witnesses told police they heard shots ring out. Officers arrived to find the Bowen High School student and another teen shot and killed.

"That's my little brother, that's my heart, that's my everything," said Megan Willis, victim's sister.

Hours earlier, another person was killed in the1600 block of West Hubbard Street.

Nicholas Ramirez, 19, was killed about 2:30 a.m. Saturday as he was being chased by a group of men in another car. The Chicago man died after the vehicle he was driving careened into at least one other vehicle before crashing into a concrete median.

Investigators say at least one suspect then fired into the crashed vehicle before driving away.

Since the weekend's first shooting Friday evening, five people have been killed and at least 12 others have been wounded in shootings across the city, leaving some concerned about the possibility of another violent summer.

"These young guys and young ladies, they don't have an outlet," said Charles Hudson, Chicago resident.

Female Chicago Police Officer & Male Cook County Sheriff's Deputy Officer involved in husband/wife murder/suicide in Chicago's Garfield Ridge Community - 5300 Block of South Austin Ave - Chicago Police Officer Veronica Rizzo Acevedo & Cook County Sheriff Deputy Javier Acevedo


A man and woman both in law enforcement were found dead Sunday morning in the 5300 block of South Austin.

The couple are a wife who is a Chicago police officer and a husband who is a county sheriff's deputy. It's believed the woman was shot and killed by her husband, who then turned the gun on himself.

The couple was found dead just after 5 a.m. Sunday. The deaths drew a huge police response to the area of Austin and Archer.

Cook County sheriff's police confirm to Eyewitness News that a veteran corrections officer, Javier Acevedo is believed to have killed his Chicago police officer wife Veronica Rizzo Acevedo.
Javier Acevedo has been with the sheriff's department for 25 years, the agency said. Law enforcement are still investigating the motive for this murder-suicide.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Know Where Your Tax Money Is Going And What Your State Official's Make and Own



Rep. Susana A. Mendoza (D)


staterepmendoza@gmail.com
1st Representative District

(Mendoza is currently the elected City Clerk of Chicago, succeeding Miguel del Valle)



2008 District Spending Report
2008 Total Expended: $69,397.00
2008 Available Balance: $12.00
2009 District Spending Report
2009 Total Expended: $68,336.27
2009 Available Balance $1,072.73
Provided by the Illinois House District Accounting System


2008 Salary: $76,731.96
2009 Salary: $76,366.08
2010 Base Salary: $64,717.08
2010 “Bonus” Pay: $9,852.12
2010 Total Salary Paid: $74,569.20

2007 Mileage Funds Received: $5,610.00
2007 Per Diem/Lodging Funds Received: $11,536.00
2008 Mileage Funds Received: $3,689.002008 Per Diem/Lodging Funds Received: $6,837.00

2009 Mileage Funds Received: $4,318.00
2009 Per Diem/Lodging Funds Received: $8,448.00

2010 Mileage Funds Received: $3,060.00
2010 Per Diem/Lodging Funds Received: $7,075.00
Provided by the Illinois Office of the Comptroller


2010 LPU Abuse #1: Two-Sided Poster (16.5”W x 16”H) Mailer
14,135 copies
Taxpayer Production Cost: $1,289.17 for Labor, Materials and Paper…
Taxpayer Postage/Mailing Cost: TBD


2010 LPU Abuse #2: Miscellaneous Brochures…
11,500 copies
Taxpayer Production Cost: $2,549.22 for Labor, Materials and Paper…
Taxpayer Postage/Mailing Cost: TBD


2010 LPU Abuse #3: Miscellaneous Cards…
49,038 copies
Taxpayer Production Cost: $933.87 for Labor, Materials and Paper…
Taxpayer Postage/Mailing Cost: TBD


2010 LPU Abuse #4: Women’s Self-Defense and Back to School Flyers…
1,000 copies
Taxpayer Production Cost: $285.14 for Labor, Materials and Paper…
Taxpayer Postage/Mailing Cost: TBD
Total 2010 LPU Abuse and Taxpayer Production Cost Waste: $5,057.37
2003 – 2008 Rep. Selected: Scholarship Recipients

Provided by the Illinois State Board of Education



Qualifying District Address:
2646 S. Sawyer Ave., 2nd Floor;
Chicago, Illinois 60623

Know Where Your Tax Money Is Going And What Your State Official's Make and Own


Sen. Antonio Muñoz (D)

2010 District Spending Report2010 Total Expended: $79,693.59
2010 Available Balance: $3,369.41
2010 Base Salary: $64,717.08
2010 “Bonus” Pay: $19,699.68
2010 Total Salary Paid: $84,416.76
2008 Salary: $76,731.96
2009 Salary: $86,450.88
2005 Mileage Funds Received: $2,632.00
2006 Mileage Funds Received: $2,848.00
2007 Mileage Funds Received: $5,804.00
2008 Mileage Funds Received: $3,564.00
2009 Mileage Funds Received: $4,882.00
2010 Mileage Funds Received: $3,260.00
2005 Per Diem/Lodging Funds Received: $6,024.00
2006 Per Diem/Lodging Funds Received: $5,670.00
2007 Per Diem/Lodging Funds Received: $12,403.00
2008 Per Diem/Lodging Funds Received: $5,805.00
2009 Per Diem/Lodging Funds Received: $8,844.00
2010 Per Diem/Lodging Funds Received: $6,797.00


Qualifying District Address:

3211 S. Hamilton Ave.; Chicago, Illinois 60608

Property Index Number (PIN): 17-31-108-046-0000

Board of Review: Certified 2009

Assessor Estimated 2010 Market Value: $258,750.00

2009 Property Taxes [Paid in 2010]: $3,109.39

Illinois still is violating constitutional law











 Mary Flowers 31st District Illinois state Representative
I Voted against Concealed Carry knowing a majority of them are PRO-GUNN

Christine Radogno 
State Republican Leader 41st District
State Senator
I voted for Concealed Carry in Illinois  







Illinois states that it is a SHALL ISSUE state but reserves the right to deny applicants as the state is a MAY ISSUE. I think Illinois politicians need to know what the meaning is between the two. Well do I have a update for you. One of our readers who applied and sent us his denial letter went and filed in court today for a administrative review. but did not meet the fee waiver requirements. So he walked in to room 802 in the Daley center to file but was told it will cost 400 bucks. This man can not afford 400 bucks that is why he wanted the fees waived. So then he informed us that he notified these two lovely ladies for some help which we hope that they do help him.

But the reason for this blog today is because this same reader stated that there were over 150 people all with out of state CCW's that were denied. I have to ask did these people fall under the Shall Issue guidelines, I would think so or they would not be filing appearances. out of 150 75 of them walked away as they could not afford to file. Wait what they walked away so the state infringed upon the rights by using the may issue criteria as part of a shall issue.

SHALL ISSUE
 States with "shall issue" systems require a license or permit to carry a concealed handgun, and applicants must meet certain well defined objective criteria. However, unlike "may issue" systems, a "shall issue" state removes all arbitrary bias and discretion, compelling the issuing authority to award the permit. These laws require that the empowered authority “shall issue” a permit to applicants who meet the criteria defined by law. Generally, the criteria for issuance of a license include proof of residency within the state, a minimum age, fingerprints for a background check, no record of mental illness or adjudication of mental defect by a court, proof or certification from an acceptable handgun safety class (including live-fire range qualification exercises to demonstrate safe and acceptable proficiency), and submitting the required application fee.
 
So why is Illinois denying people because some folks have been brought to court under false pretence with order's of protections. Illinois is using this in order to deny the applicants right, but were in the law above says the state can do that? I don't see anything.

This is the correct criteria for a shall issue for ILLINOIS which has declare to be by the state, which is highlighted in yellow.

A Valid Driver’s License or State Identification card.
A valid FOID card.
A head and shoulder electronic photograph taken within the last 30 days.
Be able to provide the last ten years of residency.
Fingerprints – Electronic fingerprints will expedite your application! Specify to the Live Scan vendor
that your fingerprint application is for the Concealed Carry application (ORI = IL920707Z, Purpose
Code = CCW).
NOTE: Applicants will be assigned a transaction control number (TCN) at the time of fingerprinting
and will be required to retain that TCN to complete the application.
$150.00 payable with a credit card or electronic check.
The FCCL will be valid for 5 years.

MAY ISSUE
States with these systems require a license or permit to carry a concealed handgun, issuance of such is at the discretion of local authorities, the issuing authority "may" issue a permit if the citizen meets certain criteria, and the likelihood of issuance within a may-issue state can range, for all practical purposes, from no-issue to a sure thing, for qualified applicants. California and New York county authorities are given a lot of latitude in determining whether a license or permit will be issued. California ranges from a no-issue in areas like San Francisco, to nearly shall-issue environment in rural counties. Connecticut law provides authorities very limited discretion in the issuance of a permit. Maryland law allows citizens to apply for a permit, but if you don't have law enforcement or political connections it is extremely rare that one will be issued (making it effectively a non-issue state). Alabama, by law, is a may-issue state, but Alabama county sheriffs issue permits to almost all qualified applicants.

But Illinois uses the factors below in green highlight as to deny ones CCW which falls under a MAY ISSUE state not SHALL ISSUE. If the state falls under may issue then yes the below is sufficient enough to deny.

A person is not eligible for a FOID card , and thus not eligible for a CCL, if he or she: (1) is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition by any state or federal law; (2) has been convicted of a felony; (3) is addicted to narcotics; (4) has been a patient in a mental health facility in the past five years; (5) is intellectually disabled; (6) is admitted to the U.S. under a non-immigrant visa; (7) is an undocumented immigrant; (8) is subject to an order of protection prohibiting him or her from possessing a firearm; (9) has been convicted within the past five years of battery, assault, aggravated assault, or a violation of an order of protection in which a firearm was used or possessed; (10) has been convicted of domestic battery or aggravated domestic battery; (11) has been adjudicated a delinquent minor for an offense that would be a felony; (12) has been adjudicated as a mentally disabled person; (13) has been involuntarily admitted into a mental health facility; (14) is developmentally disabled; or (15) has a mental condition that poses a clear and present danger to the applicant, any other person, or persons of the community.
Additional requirements. In addition to meeting the FOID card requirements, a CCL applicant: (1) must be at least 21; (2) must not have been convicted of a misdemeanor involving the use or threat of physical force or violence or two or more DUI violations within five years of the application; (3) must not be the subject of a pending arrest warrant, prosecution, or proceeding for an offense or action that could lead to disqualification to own or possess a firearm; (4) must not have been in residential or court-ordered treatment for alcoholism, alcohol detoxification, or drug treatment within the five years prior to application; and (5) must have successfully completed the required firearms training.8
If the Department issues a denial or fails to act on an application within 90 days of receipt, the applicant may appeal to the director of the Department for a hearing. All final decisions of the Department are subject to judicial review.

But Illinois stands as a SHALL ISSUE so why are they denying people who are not convicted felons the right to carry. Well I will tell you why because deep down Illinois politicians like Mary Flowers thinks that having no guns will protect people when in actuality criminals don't give a rates ass about the law that is why they are called criminals. Secondly people have to carry a firearm for protection since all the Illinois Politicians want to do is raise taxes to feed their pockets and could careless about hiring more cops so we have to police and protect ourselves. 
I am now asking for lawyers who read this to stand up and help the ones that have been denied to file a class action lawsuit against the state of ILLINOIS and it's elected officials for still infringing upon Constitutional rights.  

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Porch Monkey looking for banana kills in Rodgers Park

A 16-year-old boy killed in a drive-by shooting in Rogers Park has connections to a local rapper that was killed in 2012.

It happened at about 2:40 a.m. Tuesday on the 7600 block of north Ashland Avenue.

Police say the boy was walking on the sidewalk when one or more person in a gray mini-van opened fire.

The boy has been identified as Kenos Glass.

The shooting happened just east of the Stephen F. Gale Math and Science Academy, and about three blocks from the Howard station on the CTA’s Red Line.

This is a developing story – check back for details.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Sarges history:WWII Code Talker gets honored

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Chester Nez receives an American flag from Pfc. Tiffany Boyd, at Code Talker Hall, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., April 4, 2014. The flag was flown over the Marine Corps War Memorial, on the first day of spring in honor of Cpl. Nez's attendance at the Platoon 382 Hall rededication. Cpl. Nez is the last of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers of World War II.
As 1942 dawned, World War II was not going well for America and her Allies. Japanese carrier-borne bombers and fighters had crippled the U.S. Navy's proud Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; attacked American bases in the Philippines and on Guam; and were intent on seizing other island bases in the south and central Pacific. In Europe, France had fallen to Germany's blitzkrieg, and stalwart Britain was still staggering from the Nazis' relentless nighttime bombing during the previous year.

Half a world away, two great British ships — the battleship Prince of Wales and battle cruiser Repulse — and members of their crews lay at the bottom of the sea off the coast of Malaya, unfortunate victims of Japanese bombing attacks on December 10, 1941. Meanwhile, Germany's armies continued to advance methodically into the Soviet Union, while Hitler's submarines wreaked havoc on supply convoys outbound to Russian ports from the United States.
For the U.S. Armed Forces, communications, which had always been a complex issue, had now become a bewildering problem. Japanese cryptographers were proving themselves amazingly adept at breaking top secret military codes almost as rapidly as newer, more complicated procedures could be devised. Many of the Japanese code breakers had been educated in the United States where they had learned to speak English and had become familiar with American colloquialisms, including slang terms and profanity. As a result, American battle plans became known to the enemy almost immediately, often before they had become operational, and there appeared to be no immediate workable solution. The result was an appalling loss of American lives. One war analyst commented, 'Military communications were made available to the enemy like sand sifting through a sieve.' Some months before, Philip Johnston, a middle-aged civil engineer who lived in Los Angeles, read a newspaper article on military security. During World War I, he had served with U.S. forces in France, and although too old to fight in World War II, Johnston wanted to aid the current war effort in some way. From the age of four, he had lived on the Navajo Indian Reservation, where his parents were Protestant missionaries, and had consequently grown up speaking the Navajo tongue with his playmates. Now, as he read, the concept of a secret military code based on the Navajo language flashed across his mind.

In February 1942, after formulating his idea, Johnston traveled south to Camp Elliott near San Diego, where he tried to convince Lieutenant Colonel James E. Jones, the Marines' Signal Corps Communications Officer, that a code based on the Navajo language could not be broken by the enemy. Jones, after listening intently to Johnston's idea, responded: 'In all the history of warfare, that has never been done. No code, no cipher is completely secure from enemy interception. We change our codes frequently for this reason.' But Johnston's graphic presentation proved so convincing that the two men agreed to set up a test.

Johnston's confidence in his theory lay in the fact that the Navajo language includes a number of words that, when spoken with varying inflections, may have as many as four totally different meanings. Navajo verb forms are especially complex. To most listeners, the language is virtually incomprehensible and has been variously likened to the rumble of a moving freight train, the gurgling noises of a partially blocked sink drain, or, jokingly, the resonant thunder of an old-fashioned commode being flushed. As a result, use of the Navajo tongue was confined almost entirely to the reservation; few non-Navajos spoke or understood it. And it was a 'hidden language,' there not yet being an alphabet or written form for others to study.

Returning to Los Angeles, Johnston spent nearly two weeks seeking bilingual Navajos from among that city's population. On February 28, 1942, he returned to Camp Elliott with four Indians in order to prove their linguistic capability before a group of skeptical Marine staff officers. Sent in pairs to separate rooms, the first two Navajos were given a typical military field order to transmit in their own language to the others several doors away. When retranslated back into English, the message received by the second pair proved to be an accurate copy of the order as it was given. The Marines were amazed at the speed and accuracy of the interpretation, and the presentation was pronounced a complete success.

Major General Clayton Vogel, Camp Elliott's commanding officer, composed an urgent letter — supported by another from Johnston — describing the demonstration to the Marine Corps commandant in Washington, D.C., and urging the immediate recruitment of two hundred young, well-educated Navajos to serve as Marine communications specialists. After an agonizing delay, General Vogel was authorized by Washington to recruit just thirty Navajos for training in a trial project. The commandant of the Marine Corps, unwilling to risk turning over such a vital element of the war effort to a civilian and two hundred Navajo Indians, reasoned that if a program using the thirty men did not work out, the Marines would not have expended too much time and effort.

By mid-April, Marine recruiting personnel appeared on the Navajo Reservation. They proceeded to enlist thirty volunteers from agency schools at Fort Wingate and Shiprock, New Mexico, and Fort Defiance, Arizona. In addition to being fluent in both the Navajo tongue and English, each enlistee had to be physically fit in order to serve as a messenger in combat. The Navajos were told only that they would be'specialists' and would serve both in the United States and overseas. Some members of the group were underage, but as birth records were not usually kept on the reservation, it was easy for a recruit to lie or be mistaken about his age. Carl Gorman, a 36-year-old Navajo from Fort Defiance, was too old to be considered by the Marines, so he lied about his age in order to be accepted.

For almost all of the Navajos, travel was a brand new experience. Some had never been off the reservation, and many had never ridden on a bus or train. The majority of them had never seen an ocean and did not realize that they would soon be a part of the ferocious war being fought in the middle of the Pacific. Several of the recruits' families insisted that before leaving, their sons participate in a religious ceremony to pray for the young men's safe return.

The group of Navajos who reported for basic training at the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot had never experienced any sort of military discipline, and several found it difficult to cope with their new lifestyle. Although now officially designated the 382nd Platoon, U.S. Marine Corps, at boot camp, the group was referred to as 'The Navajo School.'

Following their basic training, the Navajo Marines were moved to Camp Pendleton at Oceanside, California, where their new officers were quick to realize that these young men were, in some ways, different from those with whom they were used to dealing. But the Navajos learned to march in cadence, obey orders, and keep their quarters scrupulously clean. On one occasion, during a dress parade on a particularly hot day, several non-Indian Marines passed out from the heat, while all of the Navajos, who hailed from the hot climate of the Southwest, remained erect in formation and stood at attention during the personal inspection that followed.

One writer for the Marine Corps Chevron reported that 'At present they're a typical Marine outfit of budding specialists. They gripe about the things that all Marines gripe about — liberty, chow and the San Diego weather.' In short, the Navajos were rapidly shaping up into excellent Leathernecks.

At Camp Pendleton, the Navajos, in addition to their other duties, were required to devise a new Marine Corps military code which, when transmitted in their own language, would completely baffle their Japanese enemies. The code's words had to be short, easy to learn, and quick to recall. After working long and hard on the project, the men devised a two-part code. The first part, a 26-letter phonetic alphabet, used Navajo names for 18 animals or birds, plus the words ice for I, nut for N, quiver for Q, Ute for U, victor for V, cross for X, yucca for Y, and zinc for Z. The second part consisted of a 211-word English vocabulary and the Navajo equivalents. This code, when compared with conventional Marine Corps codes, offered considerable savings in time, since the latter involved lengthy encoding and deciphering procedures by Signal Corps cryptographic personnel using sophisticated electronic equipment.

Exactly how the Navajos did their job remained a mystery to many Marine Corps staff officers. However, their proficiency, both under training conditions and later in actual combat, proved that the Navajos were completely reliable and erased the initial distrust felt by some Marine officers.

Several of the Navajos remained in California as instructors; two became recruiters; and one did not complete the course. The remainder of the original contingent reported for combat duty in August 1942 to Major General Alexander Vandegrift's First Marine Division on Guadalcanal. The general became so impressed by the code talkers' performance that he requisitioned Washington for 83 additional Navajos to be assigned to his division alone. By the time the Guadalcanal campaign ended that December, General Vandegrift had no doubt about the Navajos' dependability.

Meanwhile, a second, much larger contingent of Navajos had been recruited and sent to boot camp in San Diego. Following completion of their basic training, the men were assigned to the top-secret code-talker program at Camp Pendleton. By August 1943, nearly two hundred young Navajos had been trained at the camp. The staff sergeant in charge of the code-talker program there was Philip Johnston, who, although overage for duty with the Marines, had volunteered his services.

In jungle combat in the Pacific, the Navajos' innate strength, ingenuity, scouting and tracking ability, habitual Spartan lifestyle, and utter disregard for hardships stood them in remarkably good stead. At first utilized usually only at the company-battalion level, the Navajos became virtually indispensable as their capability and reliability were recognized.

Frequently, and especially when a Marine regiment was fighting alongside an Army unit, the Navajos' physical resemblance to the Japanese led to confusion that resulted in several Navajos almost becoming casualties of 'friendly fire' by their fellow-Americans. Many Navajos actually were captured and taken for interrogation. One such Navajo, William McCabe, was looking for something to eat while waiting on a Guadalcanal beach for his transport ship. 'I got lost among the big chow dump,' he recalled, 'All of a sudden I heard somebody say, `Halt,' and I kept walking. `Hey, you! Halt, or I'm gonna shoot!'. . . . [T]here was a big rifle all cocked and ready to shoot. I'm just from my outfit, I was coming here to get something to eat. And he said, `I think you're a Jap. Just come with me." After that incident, McCabe was accompanied by a non-Navajo at all times.

On the eve of the First Marine Division's departure for the island of Okinawa, which was expected to be the bloodiest landing of the Pacific War thus far, the Navajos performed a sacred ceremonial dance that invoked their deities' blessings and protection for themselves and their fellow Americans. They prayed that their enemies' resistance might prove weak and ineffectual. Some of their non-Indian buddies, standing on the sidelines, scoffed at the whole idea. When Ernie Pyle, the famed Scripps-Howard war correspondent, reported the story afterward, he noted that the landings on Okinawa beach had indeed proved much easier than had been anticipated and noted that several of the Navajos were quick to point this out to the skeptics in their units.

Farther inland, however, Japanese resistance stiffened, almost slowing the American advance to a halt. As might be expected, a Navajo was asked by another Marine with whom he shared a foxhole what he thought of his prayers now. 'This,' the Navajo replied, 'is completely different. We only prayed for help during the landings.'

Eventually, Navajo code talkers served with all six Marine divisions in the Pacific and with Marine Raider and parachute units as well. Praise for their work became lavish and virtually endless as they participated in major Marine assaults on the Solomons, the Marianas, Peleliu, and Iwo Jima.

Commenting on the Marines' Iwo Jima landing, Major Howard Conner, the Fifth Marine Division's Signal Officer, said that 'The entire operation was directed by Navajo code. . . . During the two days that followed the initial landings I had six Navajo radio nets working around the clock. . . . They sent and received over 800 messages without an error. Were it not for the Navajo Code Talkers, the Marines never would have taken Iwo Jima.'

On an August evening in 1945, the Navajos were, quite naturally, among the first to receive the news that everyone had been waiting to hear. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki three days later, Emperor Hirohito had urged the Japanese nation to 'endure the unendurable' of surrender. The war was over.

In all, 421 Navajos had completed wartime training at Camp Pendleton's code talker school, and most had been assigned to combat units overseas. Following Japan's formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, several code talkers volunteered for duty with U.S. occupation forces in Japan. Others were sent to China for duty with American Marines there. One code talker, Willson Price, remained in the Marine Corps for thirty years, finally retiring in 1972.

Several months elapsed before the first Navajos returned from the Pacific to their homes. For most of the returning heroes, their homecoming initiated a round of family reunions and purification rites, traditional dances, and curing ceremonies, all coupled with their mothers' thankful prayers for their sons' return, safe in both body and mind. These ages-old Navajo religious rites had originally been adopted to protect returnees from any harmful or toxic influences they might have encountered or duties they had been forced to perform while away from the reservation. But there was surprisingly little evidence of serious psychological problems or combat fatigue among the returning Navajo veterans.

For many of them, however, returning to reservation life proved difficult after their years away. They missed the excitement, the challenges, and especially the privileges they had grown accustomed to in the service. Some of the men rejoined the same Bureau of Indian Affairs' high school classes from which they had originally been recruited. Others enrolled in various colleges or universities under the G.I. Bill.

For Teddy Draper, Sr., on occupational duty in Japan, there was no such immediate problem. During his off-duty hours, he learned to speak Japanese so well that he eventually served as an interpreter. He later commented: 'When I was going to boarding school [before the war], the U.S. government told us not to speak Navajo, but during the war, they wanted us to speak it!' He remembered thinking that 'if I can get back to the reservation safely, I want to become a Navajo language teacher and educate young Navajos.' His wartime training had given him new insight into modern teaching methods, which he later used to teach other Navajos at home.

But for most of the men who wished to marry and raise families, there were severe problems. Jobs were scarce; in fact, there were none to be had on the reservation. Many banks refused to make G.I. loans even to honorably discharged veterans because Navajo families held their reservation land parcels in trust and had no proof of title. The men felt, with considerable justification, that it was a shameful way for their government to treat them. But, as one veteran code talker remarked, 'We've faced difficult situations before, and tough trails have never defeated us! Somehow the Navajos survived.'

Almost a quarter of a century elapsed before the Fourth Marine Division honored its Navajo code talkers at its June 1969 annual reunion in Chicago. An attractive medallion, struck by the Franklin Mint in commemoration of their services, was presented to each of the group of twenty veteran code talkers who had flown to Chicago for the occasion. To show its appreciation, the division entertained the men in sumptuous style, and the Navajos, many dressed in their best tribal regalia, marched with the Fourth Marines down Michigan Avenue.

Today, a few veteran code talkers still take part in holiday parades, though some must now ride in open convertibles. Several code talkers have held the Navajo Nation's top executive positions, both as chairman and vice-chairman, while others served on its Tribal Council. Fittingly enough, the men also have their own fraternity — the Navajo Code Talkers' Association — which meets regularly at Window Rock, Arizona, the Navajo Nation's capital.

In December 1971, President Richard M. Nixon presented the Navajo code talkers with a certificate of appreciation from the nation, thanking them for their 'patriotism, resourcefulness, and courage.' Those brave veterans had given the Marine Corps its only unbreakable means of battlefield communication, saving thousands of American lives in the process.

A Japanese general admitted after World War II that the most highly skilled Japanese cryptographers had not been able to decipher the Marines' messages. After being informed that it was a code based on a Native American language, he said: 'Thank you, that is a puzzle I thought would never be solved.