Trouble In My Blue Paradise, Chi-town Edition

The Justice Department will vigorously investigate Obama's former chief of staff to see whether he covered up the Laquan McDonald video to bolster his chances in an election run-off. I love a mystery!

And the mystery here is, how do the Democrats energize their base (i.e., rile up their BLM faction) while managing to protect a powerful Chicago machine operative with close Obama ties? And can do manage that while presenting some sort of a story that does not involve extra-terrestials and Area 51? Or, can they find a way to delay this mess past next November's elections?

Hey, some earnestly progressive college Presidents have been caught on the wrong side of the current wave. Why can't a mayor be next? My prediction - Rahm Overboard!

As background, the Times ponders this Rubik's Cube:

CHICAGO — The Justice Department plans to begin a far-ranging investigation into the patterns and practices of the Chicago Police Department, part of the continuing fallout over a video released last month showing the police shooting of Laquan McDonald, a person familiar with the case said Sunday.

..

Critics have raised many questions.

Did Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s re-election fight play a role in his administration’s decision this year to pay $5 million to Mr. McDonald’s family members even before they filed a lawsuit? Why did City Hall include a provision in the settlement to keep the video private at least temporarily? And why did it take Anita Alvarez, the Cook County State’s Attorney, 13 months to charge the police officer involved in the shooting? She waited until hours before the city was forced to release the video to charge the officer, Jason Van Dyke, with first-degree murder.

Baffling!

The authorities in Chicago insist there was no cover-up, and on Sunday night a spokesman for Mr. Emanuel said the city welcomed the Justice Department’s decision.

Last week, a spokeswoman for Mr. Emanuel, Kelley Quinn, said, “Any suggestion that politics played a role in this investigation is patently false.” Faced with growing criticism and demands for his resignation, Mr. Emanuel wrote an op-ed column in Chicago’s newspapers over the weekend, calling for broad changes at the police department but also laying out a defense of his own role. “What I strongly reject is the suggestion that the videotape of the McDonald shooting was withheld from the public because of the election,” Mr. Emanuel said.

"Reject"? Doesn't he mean "Acknowledge as obvious"?

More puzzle pieces deepen the mystery:

By February 2015, the lawyers for Mr. McDonald’s mother had obtained the dashboard camera video itself. Michael Robbins, one of the family’s lawyers, said the lawyers had subpoenaed the video as part of a separate probate case. On Feb. 27 they contacted the city, seeking $16 million before they filed any lawsuit.

As it happened, three days earlier, Mr. Emanuel had learned that he was about to face an intense, six-week test of his leadership. He had failed to get the 50 percent plus 1 vote that he needed to win re-election to a second term outright, and was forced into an April 7 runoff with Jesus G. Garcia. Mr. Emanuel’s campaign was especially vulnerable among some black and Latino voters who had been upset by his administration’s closing of nearly 50 public schools as well as policing and crime.

“If that video would have surfaced around that time, he would have lost the whole support of the black, African-American community in Chicago,” said William Calloway, an activist here.

...

After a meeting in mid-March, lawyers for the family and the city reached an agreement to pay the family $5 million. City Council approval was needed, though, and that body’s next meeting was on April 15, eight days after Mr. Emanuel won re-election.

Chicago law department officials said settlements before lawsuits have even been filed are not unprecedented. The speed with which negotiations proceeded, the officials said, reflected the wishes of the lawyers for the other side and the nature of the case.

The city included in their settlement with the McDonald family a provision barring release of the video until criminal investigations were complete. Law department officials said that has been standard practice in Chicago for decades so as not to hinder such investigations. In this case, they said, no one expected the investigations to take much longer. City officials also said the family itself was not eager for the police video to be made public.

Just a series of coincidences that let this all be resolved quietly before the election. One last howler:

Mr. Emanuel himself was aware of the case and the video at the point at which a city settlement was being weighed, city officials said. His office did not respond to questions about when the mayor first learned of the case and the video. He has said he did not watch the video until it was released to the public.

Hmm, maybe Rahm can become Deputy Commissioner of Football and be the guy who is too busy or uninformed to watch videos of controversial cases, like the Ray Rice knockout punch, that Commissioner Goodell is too busy/uninformed to watch.

Let's have a To Be Fair moment - Rahm and his people were smart enough to know they were orchestrating a cover-up, so keeping the video away from Rahm would be certainly be part of the strategy. That preserved his Implausible Deniability, now being exercised.

Of course, we can only wonder why he didn't want to see the video, since as Mayor he is meant to be overseeing the Police Department and the city was about to write a big check for what may or may not have been heinous police misconduct.

So, was Rahm guilty of gross negligence of his oversight responsibilities? Too tired to focus, and unwilling or unable to do his job? Or did he order the Code Red?

It's a mystery!

 

Comments

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Never let a #deadblackkid go to waste.

[Blindfolded, halt.]

Paging Patrick Fitzgerald. Patrick Fitzgerald to the house phone, please.

[Sue]

He has said he did not watch the video until it was released to the public

Maybe Obama learned this trick from Rahm? Never know anything until it's on the front pages of the local rag.

[Bori]

We don't want the truth, we can't handle the truth!

Oh, yes we do. We won't get it, though.

[There goes the neighborhood.]

A pen, a phone, a plan, oh Mama.

[Appalled]

The President can be moved beyond his usual stance of peeved petulance by things that have a whiff of Bull Conner, and the investigation on this may turn out to be real. Particularly if the end date of any indictments is in the transition period between him and (using his mind set here) Hillary.

[Threadkiller]

A couple of years ago NK pointed out that the only logical purpose of Obamacare was to destroy the current form of the Democrat Party and replace it with the Obama Party. I always thought that was a great hypothesis.

Now Rahm's crisis waste management skills are undermining local law enforcement in favor of federal overlords?

Seems to be part and parcel of the greater plan.

[Appalled]

TK:

Interesting -- you can get to an investigation of this and a prosecution of Rahm by assuming both good or bad faith on Obama's part.

I love it when people of disparate faiths can come together...

[rse]

Knowing that the Chmn and ceo of aetna is a publicized key speaker at the wisdom 2.0 conference http://wisdom2conference.com/ really puts the advocacy for obamacare in further perspective.

[Neo]

Good Lord .. now we have a scandal at HUD

HUD's inspector general couldn't audit billions of dollars worth of the agency's spending because it's financial statements and systems were missing records, were inaccurate, and even broke federal law, according to a report made public Monday.

.... Hillary hardest hit as her apparent VP choice, Julian Castro is Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

[daddy]

Too bad Mrs O'Leary's cow ain't still around to take the rap.

[rse]

https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2015/12/7/the-narrative-can-never-be-wrong

[Miss Marple 2]

Did anyone see that press conference from San Bernardino?

I only caught part of it but there was an Iranian doctor who served in the armed forces who is part of the SWAT team. Because they had fears of booby traps or hidden terrorists, he was the medical person who went in with SWAT gear and his doctor's bag in order to triage the people who were wounded.

Very impressive guy. Said it was a privilege to serve and that San Bernardino should show ISIS what we are about by supporting the families through this time.

Commenter on Fox said he wanted to know why Obama didn't fly out there and visit with the families and make his speech from there?

Excellent question since he ran down to that Charlotte funeral lickety split to make himself the center of attention by singing Amazing Grace.

[Threadkiller]

I assume Obama's good faith is towards his ultimate goal, not towards any NPCs that lose their lives along the way.

His actions always lead to more civil unrest, never less.

Demolition Man utopian control technique.

[clarice]

It's Chicago, ladies and gents. Rahm didn't have to lift a finger, a pen or a phone for everyone underneath him to take care of this without involving him at all. He knew nothin'.

[clarice]

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/donald-trump-no-conservative-and-no-winner/article/2577650?utm_campaign=Washington+Examiner%3A+Opinion+Digest&utm_source=Washington+Examiner%3A+Opinion+Digest+-+12%2F07%2F15&utm_medium=email

[matt]

There are known knowns and unknown knowns, clarice. And that is the problem with Chicago. We know he's guilty as hell, but how do they prove it?

When a political operation is run like the Mob, this is what happens. A quiet word to Tessio and it gets fixed.

[Miss Marple 2]

Israel News Flash ‏@ILNewsFlash 2h2 hours ago

GERMANY -BREAKING: Refugee shouting "ALLAH AKHBAR" attacks several police officers on a train in #Osnabrük
2 wounded

[Threadkiller]

This:

Instead, Trump incarnates the unfair caricature of conservatism that the liberal media has painted incessantly for decades.

Followed by this:

 Like other polls, the latest Quinnipiac survey indicates that Trump performs best with self-described moderate-to-liberal Republicans. 

Is Trump's hateful version of conservatism bringing him the more liberal voters? I don't get it. I would think soft Republicans would distance them from the unfair caricatures.

[Miss Marple 2]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/america-photo-shows-terror-couple-entering-us/story?id=35615829

Down in the body of this article we discover that Los Angeles was under a Level One terror alert and the public wasn't told.

[sbw]

Mr. Emanuel wrote an op-ed column in Chicago’s newspapers

Was it run on the front page?

[henry]

A note from our Chitown Lurking Unit for this Chitown thread:

This is now being skipped over, shockingly....

http://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/Missing-Audio-353927451.html

This is where the smoke is coming from. This is how things are done here. People being protected in the CPD?

Right.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Is Trump's hateful version of conservatism bringing him the more liberal voters?--

As the article points out Trump, despite his rhetoric, is not very conservative.
Do you think maybe that is why the mushes support him?
Question is why does a McClintock lover support somebody with as mushy a record as Trump?

[Threadkiller]

Question is why does a McClintock lover support somebody with as mushy a record as Trump?

He hates the media. I hate the media.

He is strong against invaders wrecking our sovereignty. Me too.

Despite his comments pre 9/11 about assault type weapons, his post 9/11 posture on the 2nd ammendment, especially since recent attacks, has been solid.

He has no use for Rove or his equivalents.

He calls out Obama for who he is.

And general stuff like that.

I don't predict him instituting a land grab for his crony buddies.

As I said before, I will vote for the Republican in the general despite my well known objection. But, I reserve the right to wreak as much havoc on the GOPe in the meantime as payback for what they have done to this country.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

I have little confidence a still avid promoter of Kelo, one of SCOTUS's most pernicious decisions ever, would not love the idea of a land grab.

I think he loves the media. He loves bashing them and they love covering him bashing them and they both love the spectacle.
If anyone in the media merely treats him objectively, his fawning knows no bounds; they're "fantastic".

And if he were the nominee I suspect much of the GOPe and he would very soon be thick as thieves; that's what a pay to play player does.

He's a one man Chamber of Commerce.

[Is it a stupid computer or a stupid government? How about both?]

A commenter @ Chilurker's link has a link to the audio, but it won't load for me.

[GMax]

via the Hill, we have a new Monmouth poll out of Iowa and it shows a new leader:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has surpassed Donald Trump and Ben Carson in Iowa, a new poll finds, giving the Texas Republican his first lead of the cycle in an early-voting state.

Cruz, who has been on a sharp upward trajectory in the polls in recent weeks, takes 24 percent of support in the Hawkeye State, according to a Monmouth University survey released on Monday.

Trump is in second place in the poll with 19 percent, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla) at 17 percent, and Ben Carson, who suffered by far the steepest decline of any candidate, clocking in at 13 percent.

[sbw]

I reserve the right to wreak as much havoc on the GOPe in the meantime as payback for what they have done to this country.

TK, I like the cut of your jib.

[Appalled]

Query -- does Trump make Cruz a very plausible nominee? Serious question. Speaking for myself, had Trump not shaken up the field, I would not have considered him. Now I do. (Not that I am happy about that.)

[GMax]

Just like the Venezuelan Chavista, can we get some Chicago papers to interviews Chicago blacks, stating the obvious, the Liar Party mislead us on this! You know its gospel in a lot of the black community that crack cocaine was introduced by whitey to keep the black man down. Lets get the boot off the neck of the black man, Rahm...

[henry]

Kim, I'm sure the local Chicago TV station is just following orders (per our lurking friend).

Also, trouble ahead -- no charges for another Chicago police officer in another shooting.

[henry]

that link

[Belly Boi]

The FBI has been involved in the case since early 2015. So if Rahm gets tossed, Obama will need to get tossed as well. Obama through impeachment? Luckily for Rahm their is no legal way to toss/impeach him...and he is not going anywhere on this own. He has 3.5 years. That is about 3.4 years longing than the average voters attention span.

The "community activists" are pushing this and it will go no where.

[Captain Hate on the iPad]

Appalled, yes I believe Trump has had a positive impact on Cruz's chances.

[The trump of doom.]

I persist in thinking that Trump would be a great press secretary, and might even take the job if he's given a little policy input.

[Barney]

"A commenter @ Chilurker's link has a link to the audio, but it won't load for me."

Sorry, Mr. CSI....

"Hours after the city of Chicago released audio-free dashcam video of a white officer shooting a black teen 16 times, a 35-second excerpt with sound appeared online.

Viewers could see and supposedly hear Officer Jason Van Dyke firing nine rapid shots at Laquan McDonald, pausing for nearly 10 seconds, then firing seven more as McDonald lay on the ground.

But experts, city police and an Associated Press analysis concluded the video is bogus.

Ed Primeau, a Michigan-based audio and video forensics expert with 32 years in the field, examined it at his lab and concluded: “It’s fake. Hands down.”"

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/12/04/heard-audio-of-laquan-mcdonald-shooting-its-fake-hands-down/

[buccaneer morgan]

So they found weapons and propaganda in some of the closed mosques in france.

[buccaneer morgan]

Well yes but that fellow has a history.

[Rocco M]

"U.S. Attorney's Office Provides Update on Investigation into the Shooting Death of Laquan McDonald

CHICAGO — On April 13, 2015, this Office announced a joint federal and state investigation into the October 20, 2014, fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald. Both before and since that announcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners have been conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the shooting.

The federal investigation of the shooting remains active and ongoing."

http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/us-attorneys-office-provides-update-investigation-shooting-death-laquan-mcdonald-0

[Rick Ballard]

Appalled,

The RNC made Cruz a very plausible candidate when they created the SEC Super Tuesday.

[GMax]

Yeah a brilliant and articulate candidate who clearly loves his country and takes the oath of office to defend and protect the Constitution and the country seriously, or a longtime grifter who everyone thinks of as a liar with absolutely no accomplishment of any kind to point to from her government service. Tough choice there - so I could see how that choice could make you unhappy, sure I can...

[buccaneer morgan]

I was speaking of primeau, and events in the sunshine state.

[Captain Hate on the iPad]

Kim, I agree he'd make an outstanding press secretary but I can't imagine him not being the boss.

[Art in Newport]

... Commenter on Fox said he wanted to know why Obama didn't fly out there and visit with the families and make his speech from there? ..

He would have had to miss the Kennedy Center bash?

[Thomas Collins]

Appalled, Cruz has run a steady campaign which is reported to be well funded. However, he comes across as nerdy on TV (probably because he is; he's one of the most if not the most academically accomplished individual ever to run for POTUS). By sucking the air out of the debates, I think Trump has prevented any candidate to stand out so far. I believe this has been to Cruz's benefit.

Every campaign has its ironies. My favorite in this one is that the candidate that so many Dems and RINOs think is a flaming cultural rightie actually has credentials a coastal gentry type would be proud of (theater guy, debate team, high school val, Princeton honors, Harvard Law School honors).

My main concern about Cruz is that I think people with Cruz's academic accomplishments typically don't have the street smarts to be a good POTUS. But Cruz has grown on me in his impromptu sessions with libs, although I still think he is a little stiff and overly academic in the network debates.

[henry]

from a lurking person to CH:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl-replay--dean-blandino-s-review-process-comes-into-question-173325497.html

[NK]

Cruz-- Cruz demonstrated his street smarts and tactics in calling out McConnell's Budget capitulations to pay off GOPe cronies.( I get to say that because I was a critic of those tactics)

The only objective issue with Cruz-Carly is turning off too many womenz and mushy voters. They are bothcombative, and that is a virtue that can go too far in a general. That said, events right now are making combative a much more valuable virtue against Hilligula and the Liar party.

[Miss Marple 2]

Well, since everyone's putting in their 2 cents, I will give you the current opinion from my family and friends who will vote in the GOP primary (we will discount my daughter, 2 granddaughters, and 1 brother who will vote for Bernie if they get the chance but will go along with Hillary, and another sister who remains a big Hillary fan no matter what):

Grandson remains impressed with Rubio, I think because he likes his presentations and he seems closer to his age

One sister who supported Trump is getting nervous but she doesn't like anyone else

One sister supports Trump and thinks he will be the nominee

Two friends (college degree people, one retired biochemist and one still working in healthcare administration) support Trump and think he can win

One friend still is supporting the dem candidate because her political opinions froze in 1968

Hairdresser: Trump Friend's hairdresser in Bloomington (IU): Trump

None of the Trump people list Cruz as their second choice. They go to Fiorina or Rubio.

[buccaneer morgan]

I'll take combative over punching bag, thank you very much, the blanc mange top men have not served us well.

[GMax]

Spartans jump to Number one in College Hoops while the football team climbs to number 3 and with a chance in the CFP to end up number one. I had a pretty good week? How bout y'all?

[Rick Ballard]

TC,

My problem with Cruz stems from a lack of executive record. I know Walker is not driven by conservative ideology any more than is Ryan but his record demonstrates his conservative tendency as well as the acumen to seize the moment and not flee th field.

Cruz won't flee but I simply have no way of judging whether he possesses the humility necessary to overcome the hubris engendered by his intelligence.

[sbw]

TC: he's one of the most if not the most academically accomplished individual ever to run for POTUS

But what about the crease in his pants?

[GMax]

We are not talking about President Poopypants at the moment...

[Jane]

Cruz won't flee but I simply have no way of judging whether he possesses the humility necessary to overcome the hubris engendered by his intelligence.

I don't worry about that at all. I think humility comes with an understanding of the Constitution. I suspect he'll act more like a Founder than anyone we've had in office for at least a century.

[GMax]

We have tried the combo of lack of humility and lack of intelligence to disastrous effect, so if we get a certain lack of humility on occasion combined with real demonstrated intelligence I think we trade way up, myself...

[buccaneer morgan]

The msque story comes from the times of Israel.

[Rick Ballard]

Jane,

The Founders had support from barely a third of the population (and Louis XVI). Reformation will take at least sixteen years and if hubris drove him to pull hard right the result will be similar to the embrace in which Nemesis currently holds President Hubris.

I doubt Cruz would do so but I have no executive record by which to ascertain the probability.

[NK]

Wretchard is becoming a national treasure like Ramirez. Alas, he has little but bad news for us: https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2015/12/06/the-narrative-can-never-be-wrong/

[Appalled]

Gmax:

As I have noted before, the 2nd amendment is the least of my concerns; I tend to prefer fairly liberal immigration; and I really did not like the preceding President's foreign policy. Soooo...., I'm hardly a natural Cruz guy.

Problem is, there is this small thing called the Constitution that the Democrats are devoted to shredding, and that process has accelerated. So, I vote GOP, and pester you guys every now and then.

Cruz is a smart guy -- and I think he's actually concerned about some of this stuff, and I think he has the smarts to understand that governance is not a matter of foot stomping and gesturing. For example, to do something about the administrative state, you actually have to revise the Administrative Procedures Act. (You know, like pass it through Congress).

I get distressed by Trump for the reason that I think he is most willing to accept Obama's Consitutional bypasses to implement his favored policies. If your concern is 2nd Amendment rights, slowing southern border immigration, and speaking loudly with a big stick, then I get why you would be interested in him. Doin' tough stuff by executive fiat is a lot easier than passing it through Congress. But such reforms are easy to overturn (just elect the next President) and extremely polarizing, and lead us down the road to Latin America.

[buccaneer morgan]

Well that's one way of looking at it, another is the only thing he cares about is fundamental transformation, everything else is an obstacle.

[buccaneer morgan]

I don't trust trump either, but realistically the next president is going to have a mass movement to propel his agenda forward, we saw how w's was undermined, earlier we saw the coup that was Watergate that ended with the purge of the security services and the abolition ofcongressional accountability through inpoundment.

[Old Lurker]

Rick...Crude at $37.50.

Tic toc.

[Old Lurker]

Is this the same story we saw on WaPo & NYT today?

No?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3349348/ISIS-Extraordinary-documents-terror-group-s-masterplan-oiled-admin-machine-plans-health-education-two-week-annual-jihadi-refresher-course-weapons-training.html

[buccaneer morgan]

Who is footstomping, we are trying to hold on to result of the countless sacrifices that were done to secure our liberties.

[clarice]

http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/143108/muslims-have-more-dnc-delegates-montana-utah-and-daniel-greenfield#.UEqv-7S3kJk.twitter

[Threadkiller]

Probably gone up since 2012, clarice.

[NK]

Crude/gasoline could collapse to $20ish/bbl and $1.50/gal at the pump. That's not a long-term viable price. That would be manna for suffering USA consumers going into 2016. Will Hilligula promise to keep it low? If she does what happens to her EnviroNut voters

[Art in Newport]

New thread

[matt]

Interesting list of Muslim athletes on some web site or other. Ali, Hakeem, Tyson, Kareem, and a number of others.

I was surprised that Shaq seems to be Muslim as well. What troubled me was an association with the Farrakhanians. Don't like them Farrakhanians and their "kill whitey" rhetoric.

[matt]

Interesting list of Muslim athletes on some web site or other. Ali, Hakeem, Tyson, Kareem, and a number of others.

I was surprised that Shaq seems to be Muslim as well. What troubled me was an association with the Farrakhanians. Don't like them Farrakhanians and their "kill whitey" rhetoric.

[Texas Liberty Gal]

If Cruz becomes President he will go down in history as one of the Greats, right up there with the Founding Fathers. Of this I am totally convinced.

[Captain Hate on the iPad]

The NOI are like the Scientology branch of Is-Slum.