Dog rescued from Jackson Harbor after chacing a Canadian Goose

A stray dog apparently hankering for a Canada goose for breakfast found himself on thin ice in the middle of Jackson Harbor Tuesday.

"The dog was sitting kind of nice and peaceful but he was far out," said Marine Unit Police Officer Nial Funchion, who helped get the pooch to safety. "I was amazed he was lasting so long. . .He was out there for hours."

The dog, a 1-year-old shepherd mix, was about 300 yards out into the harbor when he caught the eye of someone on shore around 7:30 a.m., police said. A team from the Chicago Police Marine Unit arrived in minutes, soon joined by media trucks and helicopters.

The animal seemed unfazed by the subzero temperatures as he laid claim to a patch of ice that was only about 2 inches thick, Funchion said. But the dog did seem wary of the growing number of people lining up on the shoreline, he said.

The officers initially tried to corral the dog to one side of a pier to keep it from moving toward open water, Funchion said. "That's where the geese were. We were trying to keep him from going that route."

When the dog stubbornly stayed in the middle of the harbor, Funchion gingerly stepped out on the ice in his cold weather gear. He and other officers tried to shoo the dog toward the shore several times, only to have him veer back toward the geese.

"He got close a couple times but we were trying to nudge him the rest of the way," Funchion said.
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Shouth Shore on fire

Two men died and a woman was seriously injured when an extra-alarm fire broke out in a high-rise on South Shore Drive this morning.

All three victims suffered full cardiac arrest, apparently from breathing in smoke, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
One of the men was in his 30s and the other was in his 40s, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. The first man was pronounced dead at 9:54 a.m. at the University of Chicago Medical Center and the other was pronounced later at Jackson Park Hospital, officials said.
Their names were not being released pending notification of family, according to the medical examiner's office.

The men were found on the seventh floor and the woman was found in the lobby of the building in the 6700 block of South Shore Drive, also in full cardiac arrest, Langford said. Paramedics were able to revive her with CPR and took her to the University of Chicago Medical Center, Langford said.
To Read More Click Here   Photos supplied by reader that works the 71st Street Area

C.F.D. Helo

Confident Obama lays out battle plan as he launches second term

A confident President Barack Obama kicked off his second term on Monday with an impassioned call for a more inclusive America that rejects partisan rancor and embraces immigration reform, gay rights and the fight against climate change.

Obama's ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol was filled with traditional pomp and pageantry, but it was a scaled-back inauguration compared with the historic start of his presidency in 2009 when he swept into office on a mantle of hope and change as America's first black president.
Despite expectations tempered by lingering economic weakness and a politically divided Washington, Obama delivered a preview of the priorities he intends to pursue - essentially a reaffirmation of core liberal Democratic causes - declaring Americans "are made for this moment" and must "seize it together."

His hair visibly gray after four years in office, Obama called for an end to the partisanship that marked much of his first term in the White House in bitter fights over the economy with Republicans.

"We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate," Obama said from atop the Capitol steps overlooking the National Mall.

Looking out on a sea of flags, Obama addressed a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people that was smaller than the record 1.8 million who assembled on the mall four years ago.

Speaking in more specific terms than is customary in an inaugural address, he promised "hard choices" to reduce the federal deficit without shredding the social safety net and called for a revamping of the tax code and a remaking of government.

The Democrat arrived at his second inauguration on solid footing, with his poll numbers up, Republicans on the defensive and his first-term record boasting accomplishments such as a U.S. healthcare overhaul, financial regulatory reforms, the end of the war in Iraq and the killing of Osama bin Laden.

But fights are looming over budgets, gun control and immigration. Obama, however, has sounded more emboldened because he never again needs to run for election.

SECOND TIME TAKING OATH

When Obama raised his right hand and was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts, it was his second time taking the oath in 24 hours - but this time with tens of millions of people watching on television. As he spoke, the president beamed as chants of "Obama, Obama!" rang out from the crowd.

Obama had a formal swearing-in on Sunday at the White House because of a constitutional requirement that the president take the oath on January 20. Rather than stage the full inauguration on a Sunday, the main public events were put off until Monday.

It was another political milestone for Obama, 51, the Hawaiian-born son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas.

During a triumphant parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, the president and first lady Michelle Obama thrilled cheering onlookers by twice getting out of their armored limousine and walking part of the way on foot, as they had done four years ago. Secret Service agents kept close watch.

In the evening, the couple visited the two formal inaugural balls - down from 10 in 2009 - to celebrate with supporters. At both, Obama and the first lady danced to Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," performed by singer Jennifer Hudson.

In his 20-minute inaugural speech, Obama sought to reassure Americans at the midpoint of his presidency and encourage them to help him take care of unfinished business. "Preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action," he said.

The crowds on the National Mall were enthusiastic, but the euphoria of 2009 was gone.

"Four years ago, it was the first black president," said local resident Greg Pearson, 42. "It doesn't have the same energy. It's more subdued. It's not quite the party it was four years ago. Our expectations are pretty low (this time): let's not default on the national debt, keep the government running."

Organizers had given various estimates of the number of people they expected would jam the mall for the ceremony. An inauguration official estimated the crowd at about 1 million

Unmediated Psycho shoots up College

One person was being detained and another sought after an argument escalated into gunfire at a Houston-area community college on Tuesday, injuring at least three people.

Barely six weeks after an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., revived the political fight over gun control, the nation on Tuesday again had to deal with reports of gunfire at an educational institution and watched televised images of students running in fear.

Rescue workers and police rushed to Lone Star College’s North Harris campus at approximately 12:30 p.m. amid reports of shots having been fired. The campus was on lockdown for at least an hour before officials began evacuating the campus

At least three people were taken to two area hospitals, officials told reporters. One person was being detained as a person of interest, according to Harris County Sheriff's Maj. Armando Tello.

Authorities said they were looking in the surrounding woods for another person, also described as a person of interest. It was unclear if the person being sought was armed.

Although details remained confused, witnesses interviewed by local television stations said the incident began in the library area of the campus, about 20 miles north of Houston, with about 18,000 students.

Lone Star College student Brittany Mobley said: “I saw two dudes basically get into an altercation and the dude that shot, he basically got angry and started shooting the other guy,” Mobley told TV station KHOU. “A lot of people heard a lot of shots.”

Mobley said the suspect had the gun hidden in his clothes.

“Basically, I seen the dude that shot him and as soon as I heard the bullets flying and the gun being fired off, then everyone started running and it was a hint for me to start running as well,” Mobley said.

Sheriff officials told reporters that they had confirmed three injuries at the scene. The injured were taken to Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital Emergency Center and Houston Northwest Medical Center.

Cody Harris, 20, he said he was in a classroom with about six or seven other students waiting for a psychology class to start when he heard eight shots. He and other students looked at each other, said, “I guess we should get out of here” and fled.

“I was just worried about getting out,” Harris told the Associated Press. “I called my grandmother and asked her to pick me up.”

Bruce J. Martin, an assistant professor at Lone Star College, tweeted that he had heard six to eight shots downstairs in the library and had taken cover for 20 minutes.

“Most students have been evacuated,” he wrote, adding in another tweet: “2-3 people shot, blood on library floor as we were escorted out by police.”

In addition to the college, four nearby schools in the Aldine Independent School District went into lockdown, a district spokesman said.

The shooting follows the Connecticut attack where a gunman invaded an elementary school, shooting 20 children and six adults. That attack has sparked a push by the Obama administration to increase gun control by banning assault weapons and limiting the size of ammunition clips.

Sarge's History

We noticed after picking apart video's we have determined that the first lady is an idiot as well as bored with her husband's decision in politics. To point out Mrs. Obama this year at the inaugural rolled her eyes during speeches as she has heard them before. I truly wounder what is done in the White House. Hubby is at work kids are at school and she is servicing the senators and congress maybe never know I mean since Clinton did service Monica and Kennedy serviced Monroe. But 4 years ago Mrs. Obama asked Mr. Obama why do you have to salute the military. Really Mrs. Obama um it's cause he has to. Later that year they went to ground zero and and as it has been done the last 7 years, she asks why are they reading the names or even better why do we have to be here. We also noticed that 4 years ago promises were made which only one was kept Obama care. The video will show you how disrespectful Michelle really is when she states all of this for a flag. Excuse me Michelle people died and bled for that flag so please for give me while I give you a one finger salute but knowing you, you'd want in your ass while you use a miniature hot-dog in the other hole since your mouth is full of shit and have no where else to put it bitch.

The president never put his hand over his heart 4 years ago while campaigning nor did he salute military personnel until his 4th month in office. The Obama's have taken more vacations then any sitting president. Every time the Obama's go on vacation it costs tax payers 500 thousand. Ronald Regan took 112 days in 8 years, George H.W. Bush took 38 days in 4 years, Bill Clinton took 28 days, George W. Bush took 180 days in 8 years, Barack Obama has taken 61 days after the first 31 months and since Obama spent 16 days in the gulf, 90 days with fundraisers and 180 days in Hawaii. At that cost they should pay for it. It is no wounder the debt ceiling keeps going up because they keep going on vacation. Mrs. Obama is board of the presidency.

Obam's Inaugural speech

Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.

For more than two hundred years, we have.

Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.

Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.

Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.

Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.

Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character.

But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.

This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.

For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.

We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.

We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.

We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.

We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.

We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.

We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.

It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.

That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.

For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.

My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction – and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.

They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.

You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.

You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.

Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.

Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.

Sheriff Mueller Tells V.P. to fuck him self politely

Dear Mr. Vice President,

I am Sheriff Tim Mueller, elected twice by the citizens of Linn County Oregon who have entrusted me with a noble cause: to keep them and their families safe. My deputies and I take that responsibility very seriously and, like you, have sworn to support the Constitution of the United States. I take that oath equally as serious as protecting our citizens. I have worked for the people of Linn County for over 28 years as a member of the Linn County Sheriff's Office as well as serving three years active duty as a Military Police Officer in the US Army, where I also swore a similar oath.

In the wake of the recent criminal events, politicians are attempting to exploit the deaths of innocent victims by advocating for laws that would prevent honest, law abiding Americans from possessing certain firearms and ammunition magazines. We are Americans. We must not allow, nor shall we tolerate, the actions of criminals, no matter how heinous the crimes, to prompt politicians to enact laws that will infringe upon the liberties of responsible citizens who have broken no laws. Any federal regulation enacted by Congress or by executive order of the President offending the constitutional rights of my citizens shall not be enforced by me or by my deputies, nor will I permit the enforcement of any unconstitutional regulations or orders by federal officers within the borders of Linn County Oregon.
In summary, it is the position of this Sheriff that I refuse to participate, or stand idly by, while my citizens are turned into criminals due to the unconstitutional actions of misguided politicians.

Respectfully,

Sheriff Tim Mueller