The Day The Music Died Was 50 Years ago Today

Clear Lake, IA—It was 1959 and three wonderful, young, music making pioneers, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were on a light plane that crashed killing all aboard. Holley was only 22 and has influenced music ever since. The other boys were also in the beginnings of skyrocketing careers. We are all poorer being deprived of music they all might still be making today had fate not intervened.

I met another great entertainer who lost a coin toss for that very plane ride but won his life and career instead. That was the late, great Waylon Jennings who was a pal of KTVK-TV’s former owner Del Lewis in Phoenix. Jennings would stop by from time to time to perform for Good Morning Arizona.

If Holly lived he’d be 72 years old today. I hope there is a Rock and Roll Heaven with one Hell of a band. They’ve been gone so long bet left us all music we still listen to today along with bittersweet memories. Don McClain and his hit song got it wrong, thankfully the music still lives!

Reporters Covering Cops, Courts And Crime Need Some Basic Information.

Reporters never seem to understand police work. Media reporting nearly always fails somewhere when the reports are about crime, courts and cops. Journalists never get an important basic education that would help them better understand police work.

Interviews and interrogations are as important for journalists as they are for seasoned police detectives. Reporters overrate themselves in this area because they do lots of interviews. Experience is just not enough.

In 1956 the bible for criminal investigation was written by two heavyweights. The book, Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation by Charles E. O'Hara and Gregory L. O'Hara is as relevant today as it was over a half-century ago. Of course new editions are issued regularly to keep the information up to date.

There is no better guide for grilling suspects and getting to the truth than what’s contained in this book.

Reporters, private investigators and lawyers would gain by getting a current copy to read and use as a reference.

You can get your copy here.

The Future of Television News Field Reporting--An Example For You

San Diego, CA-- KGTV's Joe Little is on the beat as a VJ or backpack journalist. As it rains pink slips in newsrooms all over America the only thing left standing will be the VJ when it comes to bringing stories to television in your community.

The reporter is sent out alone with a camera and must produce, write, shoot edit and make a presentable story for broadcast. That’s a challenge to say the least.

Technology has provided great tools, lightweight equipment and the editing is usually done on a laptop computer. There are cool some tricks that can make your video entertaining but over-use will make them old fast. You can’t trade tricky video for substance.

Of course the reporter will shoot B-roll of the scene and interview those with firsthand accounts of whatever story is involved. The most difficult part is where the reporter faces his own camera and does his standup. He cannot monitor the audio or control the camera while he’s in front of it.

This concept works for TV as well as the Internet for delivering content.

Bloggers or vloggers can generate these video reports, subject of course to the available time they have to do this. The rub is that if your blog pays as well as mine does you must keep your day job. I'd love nothing more than to have the funding to go to the stories my readers like and put them up right here. Maybe someday I will find a wealthy widow to sponsor Crimefile News!

Here Little shows of many of his creative tricks. Yes folks, you CAN try this at home!

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Is A Master Of Extortion

Phoenix, AZ—Never let it be said that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio isn’t clever. He has an uncanny ability to solve some problems usually in front of rolling TV news cameras.

The problem the good sheriff had was that his deputies were paying parking fees or getting citations on county cars at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. The deputies need to pick up many freshly extradited prisoners there wanted for felony matters to deposit in Sheriff Joe’s jail.

The problem was that the City of Phoenix refused to cooperate by ending their parking fee extortion against the county cops.

Fighting Extortion With Extortion

The City of Phoenix just unveiled their new light rail mass transportation system with service to Sky Harbor Airport. City officials are feverishly trying to get the public to use the new system. Sheriff Joe could not wait to oblige and help them with their public relations campaign. I don’t think Sheriff Joe’s publicity idea was what the city politicians were looking for to increase ridership.

Sheriff Joe announced he had a way to save $75,000.00 per year in airport parking costs. He pulled off yet another media stunt announcing his deputies would begin using the light rail to transport felons. With TV news cameras in tow the resourceful Sheriff went along as his well armed deputies picked up a hapless wanted felon from Sky Harbor Airport transporting her by light rail to his jail.

The thought of Sheriff Joe expanding the program to include jailed chain-gangs being sent to work sites worked incredibly well to get city official’s minds right. They agreed to let deputies park their vehicles at the airport without charge while there on official business.

Here is A Real Bailout for The American Economy!

Washington, DC—The Bolsheviks have now gotten absolute power to destroy our form of government and way of life. Barack Obama and his merry band of Chicago Democratic Machine thieves are feverishly working to make us part of a new Global Communist government. The evidence is clear as they are nationalizing private enterprise wherever they can.

Government officials are bailing out every failing or crooked large business in sight. This is simply paying good money after bad.

The so-called stimulus program is nothing more than giveaways to their political contributors. They are simply printing money backed by nothing. That will never work and only create an inflation nightmare as the dollar becomes nonnegotiable and worthless.

My plan is simple. Since our jobs are vanishing at an alarming rate and these now idle people may not be absorbed back into the workplace we can give them real relief. The unemployed don’t need help from welfare and nanny programs. They do need help in starting their own new businesses instead.

America needs to offer any small businesses that employ 30 or fewer employees an end to paying any income tax. Instead of business sending their money to Washington they can reinvest it in equipment, supplies and wages for employees. This will create jobs and the kind of opportunities that made America great. This will generate jobs, consumer spending and fiscal health in America.

The Communists will hate this idea because it eliminates the nanny and lessens the need for more government control.

Small business has always been the backbone of America. Small business can rescue America if the government will let that happen.

Blago’s Legacy Need Not Be Disgrace When He Can Be A Taxpayer’s Hero

Chicago, IL. –Rod Blagojevich is now suffering under the tyranny he imposed on others.

Blagojevich has supported every gun control ban, restriction or other roadblock to the rights to keep and bear arms. When imposing the bans, he did so from the well protected Ivory Towers of political office. Of course there was his small army of state police bodyguards. Now all his protections are gone but for a one-year extention on the bodyguards and the state owned SUV.

Convicted of nothing the exiled leader had any rights to possess firearms taken because he was arrested. That’s even more egregious since he’s not even been indicted.

Everyone including enemies and those fearing the former governor’s future revelations on political corruption know where he lives. My guess is this man now has a big target on his back and is rightfully worried. That is not a good position for anyone.

In short Blagojevich will soon enough personally know exactly what he imposed on others.

When Blagojevich cited the Golden Rule during his impeachment remarks, I took that as a real threat made to return the full favors to his former friends and colleagues. This man knows just where the bones are buried and can bring down the entire Chicago Democratic Machine. Blagojevich has the goods on Barack Obama and his merry band of thieves who have seized control of the Whitehouse.

Under the circumstances Blagojevich is in serious danger of being silenced very soon. When that happens the Chicago Democratic Mob will make it look like suicide, an accident or blame some disturbed person for the crime.

The best thing the former Governor can do is come clean with all the corruption information while he is still breathing. Blagojevich can be remembered as the man that really made a difference. Blagojevich can have a legacy of disgrace or that of a taxpayer’s hero

Update: The security detail was removed and Blago’s butt is now the target. It’s more difficult to hit a moving target so he needs to keep up the talk show tour.

At 14 He’s The Youngest Chicago Police Recruit, Ever

Chicago, Il—As officers of the Third District were in the middle of a shift change a young imposter made himself at home, signed out a radio and got himself a citation book. He was assigned to a two officer car and hit the streets out on patrol. Since it is winter and his holster area is covered by a jacket nobody notices he has no gun.

In recent years Chicago police have begun dressing down, abandoning strict uniform requirements. Often no two officers are wearing the same uniforms. The trademark checkerboard field cap with the official and numbered shield has been sidelined for cheap baseball caps. It has been difficult to define just who the real police are anymore.

The imposter’s partner fails to notice he’s too young to be shaving yet or that anything is unusual. The lad was living out an adventure that could soon be a major motion picture!

The big question is how many other imposters could gain inside access to facilities, records and prisoners in lockups? When the ruse was discovered it became a national embarrassment for the Chicago Police Department.

The lapse here is a sign of a much bigger problem rule changes and new security measures will not cure. Political hacks and pretenders fill today’s command ranks. Returning to promotions by civil service testing with the elimination of affirmative action, clout or other contrived hiring criteria would be a great start.

You simply can’t hire and promote people who are unable to do that important job. Clout promotions of unworthy candidates are behind most of the difficulties that are making this department infamous.

Don’t expect real change here because Alderman Ed Burke and Mayor Daley have absolute power and absolute power-- well you know the rest.

Fugitive Soccer Mom To Be Freed from Prison

Lansing, MI-- Susan Lefevrere now known as Marie Walsh escaped from a Michigan prison more than three decades ago. She was a first time offending teenager who got a 10 to 20 year prison sentence for selling a small amount of heroin to an undercover cop. That prison term was off the charts in harshness considering she pled guilty and was expecting probation.

Since her 1976 breakout Walsh turned her life around, moved to the San Diego area and raised a photogenic family with her husband. She lived in an upper-class Carmel Valley neighborhood and enjoyed the American dream. She became a solid member of the community and never looked back or reoffended.

That all changed when there was a rude knock at the door on April 24, 2008. It was a deputy United States Marshall and Walsh’s blessed world came crashing down. Someone had informed on Walsh.

Despite pleas from hundreds of friends and supporters Michigan officials wanted their pound of flesh from this now middle-aged woman who was no threat to anyone. They bagged her and put her on a prison bus back to Michigan.

An utterly worthless and vindictive Wayne County Prosecutor wanted even more and prosecuted Walsh for that ancient escape. That brought an additional five-year probation term along with lots of legal fees.

Finally there is light at the end of a very dark and ugly tunnel. Today the Michigan parole board voted 10-0 to release Walsh on May 19, 2009.

That action has shaved years off of Walsh’s original sentence but the subsequent punishment was wasted on the woman who long ago chose the right path of honorable behavior.

Walsh should have been forgiven or pardoned but instead suffered unnecessary humiliation and excessive additional punishment. The process has been nothing short of a continuing emotional nightmare

When she is released in May she will have lost 13 months of her life she or her family will never see again. That was a meaningless exercise that was unnecessarily cruel.

If there is something good here it’s that Walsh will never have to look over her shoulder or fear a knock at her door again. I hope to welcome Marie back to freedom on a nice spring day.

Illinois Impeachment Proceedings Are Medieval An Un-American

Springfield, IL—I don’t agree with much any Illinois Democrat thinks about the way government should be run. That certainly includes Governor Rod Blagojevich. The Illinois Senate is conducting an impeachment farce under color of law.

The Senate is weighing select snippets of hearsay testimony. I guess if these ate truths they are by definition half or quarter truths.

Calling this a sham is an understatement. Are they using this as a stall tactic to protect members of the Obama Administration? That seems to be the only viable reason. I refuse to accept they’re acting out of ignorance of the law since there are so many lawyers involved in the proceeding.

Castro’s Executioner Hailed As A Folk Hero

Ernesto "Che" Guevara (1928-1967) was hailed by Communists and the Left Wing as a Liberator. The reality was that Guevara was nothing more than a brutal thug and prolific serial killer.

Guevara had the gift of good looks, a rich voice and the ability to influence a lot of gullible fools.

Guevara somehow managed to graduate medical school but quickly abandoned his Hippocratic Oath to, “do no harm” and became Fidel Castro’s executioner. Guevara was credited with personally killing thousands of political prisoners.

In October of 1967, the terrorist who lived by the gun, died by the gun. The American CIA is credited with assisting in locating and killing the total turd in Bolivia. Guevara never looked better as he finally became a good Communist by becoming a dead Communist.

Still today every Left Wing lunatic wants to elevate Guevara to the status of a holy martyr when in reality he made people like Richard Speck and Ted Bundy look good.

Those that want to impose their ideal, One World Communist State on others all deserve Guevara’s fate.

India's Mahatma Gandhi Weighed In on Gun Control

The words came from this master of peace, Mahatma Gandhi's own mouth, "Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest."

Gandhi saw firsthand the horror defenseless unarmed people must suffer. An unarmed Gandhi was shot down outside the Birla House in Delhi in January of 1948. Gandhi was a wise man with a big influence that was just not big enough.