Filmmaking is Slowing Becoming Democratized Through Technology

Hollywood, CA—As I prepare to both act and crew in an independent film things are quickly changing in terms of power.

The current system is awash in criminal racketeering, restraint of trade and anti-trust activities. There are about five talent agencies that currently determine what films will be made and who will act in them.

Actors hire agents to represent them and get them work. However, the agents have somehow reversed this to them hiring the actors. The talent agencies tell the studios what films they can make and just who will act, direct, shoot or write.

Massive amounts of money are gathered in what’s considered risky investments to make films. The talent agencies seem to control the cash flow. More importantly they control the movie theater owners and just what films will hit the big screen. The Agencies had the ability to intimidate, bully and control the screen owners and exactly what films will see the light of day.

However this system is changing at the talent agents can’t do anything about it. The large flat screen TVs are here with fabulous sound systems. They are in homes with the best snacks, and that important pause button for bathroom runs.

In our home theaters we don’t have to deal with traffic, parking, rude theater patrons, or the noise of others. Americans are waiting for Blu-Ray disks rather than go out to the theaters and pay through the nose for popcorn, candy and sodas.

The only thing that keeps people going to the movies is the Hollywood hype selling the films and the fact that if anyone wants to see a film quickly they can’t buy, stream or rent them until after they grow hair in the movie houses.

The film theater is an endangered species. It’s only a matter of time and they will be no more. The industry has tried to pump life into them with novel concepts of serving dinners with a movie. That idea quickly fizzled with crappy and over-priced food.

It will be impossible for the talent agencies to control Amazon.com, Netflix, Wal-Mart, Costco and the others that rent, stream or sell films to the public.

Currently half of the cost to make each film spent on advertising and publicity. With the Internet filmmakers are learning they can create their own buzz to inform consumers of their films. YouTube, is loaded with trailers today and it’s the best place to learn about available films.

In days gone by a film would be produced, hyped and shown in a theater for a limited time. Television would buy them for their commercial driven programming and that was the end of a film’s life.

Now every film made can be reproduced cheaply and be available for any consumer at any moment. That means by simply sending out reminder advertising motivates people to rediscover films they enjoyed in the past. What that means is a film now can generate income from now until eternity.

Adding to this mix is the reality that quality films can be made with cheaper equipment and that filmmakers can no longer be controlled by the talent agencies means there will be more, not less films to enjoy.

Movie Theaters are Disappearing at an Alarming Rate

Chicago, IL—As a child of the 1950’s I can tell you about seeing a first run motion picture at a great theater. People watched the newspapers for word of a new blockbuster coming to the silver screen. The planned a special date that might include a dinner out.

Chicago’s downtown theaters were spectacular, the popping sound and smell of fresh popped popcorn filled the air. There was plush carpeting, comfortable seats and a huge screen with huge curtains that opened and closed.

Pretty, well-dressed young women occupied the ticket windows. Young men wearing formal suits with red jackets were the ushers. The ushers had small brooms and shinny brass dustpans. They ran around looking for any fallen popcorn and swept it up instantly. They were constantly moving those red velvet ropes to usher people into the theater in an orderly fashion.

The moviegoers were always dressed to the nines. They were well behaved, friendly and always smiling. Everyone at the theater had a grand experience. The films of that era were terrific. I can remember being a sixth grader going to see the film Ben Hur, with Charlton Heston at the Michael Todd Theater. For me that was a special night indeed.

That era changed and things were never the same.

In the 1960s, Chicago became the host of a huge migration of African-Americans seeking substantially higher welfare rates provided by the large Northern cities. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the one-year residency requirements before even applying for welfare were somehow unlawful. The rush for the free money was in full swing. Southern states paid for one-way bus transportation to rid themselves of these poor, ignorant, dependent Blacks.

Chicago’s downtown area became overrun with these new migrants. Ugly behavior and crime skyrocketed. Chicago’s loop became an area to avoid. Any activity at the theaters involved a crew of off duty cops hired to aggressively deal with troublemakers.

By 1970 I had a part-time security gig at Continental Trailways bus depot. If I needed assistance the off duty cops working security at the nearby Chicago or State and Lake Theaters would come to my aid and of course I had to assist them at times. Purse snatching and sexual battery were incredibly common crimes. The crime was always Black on White or Black on Black. White criminals were never found downtown.

Over the decades White taxpayers fled the city in droves and the entitlement collecting Black population procreated faster than rabbits. Chicago is bankrupt and is showing no signs of recovery today.

Challenges to running a movie theater have not improved over the last five decades. Now theaters are shuttering their doors at an alarming rate.

Today parking cars in large cities is incredibly expensive and not without blame are those extortionate local taxes. The theaters are dark, dingy and poorly staffed. Many of the patrons are dressed down and often have offensive odors. Going to the movie theater has lost its luster.

Today everyone can afford a large flat screen TV with a terrific sound system. The Blu-Ray DVD experience is amazing. Why would anyone waste gasoline, parking expense and subject him or herself to street crime just to see a film?

Theaters have jacked up the prices of popcorn, candy and drinks comparable with meals in restaurants. That was a counter-productive move for sure.

That brings up yet another issue. Racketeering, and Restraint of Trade is rampant in the film industry. The nation’s film screens were limited and they were forced to show what studios demanded and for time periods dictated to the theater owners. Failure to obey would result in not getting any first-run films.

Independent filmmakers are finally getting a level playing field. The cost associated with the equipment to make movies has plummeted as the technology of the equipment has improved dramatically. Filmmaking will be more about art and less about clout and power. Anyone can sell their DVD’s to Wal-Mart or distribute them through Amazon.com.

With the death of the movie house and the reality of the home theater film distribution must change dramatically. All films are now promoted sold, streamed over the Internet or rented. Yes, Hollywood’s mafia is still trying everything possible to keep distribution under their thumbs. They are trying novel ideas like serving dinner with a movie. That experiment has failed because you can’t compete with home cooking and those home theaters.

The winner of this shakeout, are consumers, filmmakers and those supplying content to home theaters.

Some of the best local theaters in America can be found in L.A.’s Westwood Village. How long will they remain open? There were seven and now there are just three left.

Are You Ready for a Dangerous Summer in Chicago? This Will Protect You!

Chicago, IL—As the summer approaches predators can be counted upon to roam the streets looking for victims. You must constantly be aware of your surroundings and prepared for the eventuality of an attack.

The Chicago Police Department can barely answer their telephones, and respond to those calls at an ever, slower rate. The department in exceptionally undermanned outgunned and demoralized. The Illinois Department of Corrections has been releasing criminals at a record rate due to funding issues.

The U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear in McDonald vs. City of Chicago the keeping and bearing of arms is a right of the law abiding. The politicians here have chosen to disarm citizens with laws that are both un-Constitutional and immoral.

Forcing citizens to fend for themselves and to remain unarmed in a violent and dangerous city is both bad public policy and incredibly unreasonable.

Be sure to have a safe and reliable handgun and the training to use it while outside of your homes. The gun won’t make you taller, stronger, braver or smarter but it will give you an even chance to survive when the unthinkable happens. Also obtain a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card.

Should you have to shoot an attacker, get away from the scene in a hurry for your safety and do not discuss what happened with anyone but a lawyer. No law requires you to call 911 or stay at the scene. The laws surrounding traffic accidents do not apply in shooting cases.

Law abiding citizens are not out creating disturbances or otherwise attracting police attention so being frisked by some cop just doesn’t happen. Carry your gun discreetly and only you and your attackers will know your secret.

Always remember to never waive your rights to a physical search or answering questions by police. They understand when you assert or invoke your rights.

No decent Chicago cop will want to arrest you if you’re discovered with a gun unless you have a criminal record or are engaged in misbehavior. The fact that you have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card establishes that you are not a convicted criminal.

Better that you can protect yourself and family than the grim alternative.

Paul Huebl is Always Available for an Assignment from a Blog Visitor

Los Angeles, CA—As a private investigator, investigative documentary producer/film-maker I’m always waiting for one of my blog visitors or their businesses to send me out on a special assignment.

As a result of this blog I’m often retained for various professional assignments. Most of the time I can’t share the details of those assignments with my readers. However there are times when I can.

My visitors are my assignment managers and they have the ability unleash the Crimefile News monster on a story. Technology and the Internet forced the new media and bloggers to find non-traditional funding sources. Blog visitors can pay their favorite bloggers to cover and profile whatever they like.

I’m ready to take my state-of-the-art sophisticated video tools on the road to cover any event for anyone. Contact me for details and I can provide cost estimates and give you an idea of what to expect. I can do a single story or a series depending upon the nature of the assignment.

Was Douglass Morgan, Jr. Murdered by John Wane Gacy?

Chicago, IL—Shortly after the confession and arrest of John Wayne Gacy partial human remains were discovered on a warm spring day of 1979 at the Indian Boundary Forest Preserve near Belmont and Cumberland. This was very close to Gacy's Summerdale Avenue bungalow.

Apparently wild dogs and other creatures ate part of the victim who was later positively identified as Douglas Morgan, Jr. Nearby was a cardboard box containing porno magazines and some women’s undergarments. The contents of the box were positively connected to Morgan.

Morgan was a young apprentice electrician living in the area. The cause of death was not determined at the time because of the condition of the remains. But it appeared that it was anything but natural death of a young healthy man.

Detectives that did not have the great forensic tools available today followed up that investigation. Additionally, Gacy was on the fast track to a solid conviction for so many other murders. To bring forward yet another case would be like beating a dead horse. Morgan’s case was suspended accordingly.

There are still more questions about Gacy than answers. Gacy was a very twisted killer and had some equally twisted friends. Did Gacy have the ability to kill and dispose of all of the bodies without some help? Gacy was out-of-shape and incapable of overpowering young athletic men. He claimed he used a rope and handcuffs to control his victims but I never believed he could fool every kid into voluntary submission.

One surviving victim police told that he somehow let Gacy place him in medieval restraint stocks. Gacy then buggered him from behind. Gacy apparently employed chloroform to subdue that victim who was able to escape. Since Gacy remodeled pharmacies he had easy access and often stole drugs from his clients.

Sheriff Tom Dart is convinced there is an accomplice or even more still out there. He’s put his Cold Case Squad on this long dormant investigation and now wants to begin digging for more victims. I think Dart may know a lot more than he’s letting out of the bag.

It was a legendary Des Plains, Il police detective, Joe Kozenczak who broke the case. However Gacy’s home was located in unincorporated Norwood Township, which automatically gives jurisdiction to the Sheriff’s police.

Morgan’s remains were recovered inside Chicago city limits and Chicago police detectives followed that up. That Morgan death investigation went nowhere and Gacy was executed at the Menard State Penitentiary by a lethal injection in 1994.

I suspect that a careful matching of names will bring the Morgan kid close to Gacy or at least an accomplice. DNA was not an available tool back then but often it still survives on evidence from decades earlier.

It’s long past time to take a fresh new look at Douglas Morgan, Jr.’s untimely demise.

Lessons Learned From the Trayvon Martin Shooting

Sanford, FL—The shooting and mass demonstrations connected with the self-defense shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman left us all with some real lessons.

The short of it is the importance of avoiding conflict and should you have to employ deadly force avoid calling 911 or giving any cooperation with police.

George Zimmerman volunteered to be a Block Watch busybody. Unfortunately many neighborhoods are loaded with dangerous predators and block watches have become a reality. That’s especially true in jurisdictions that have been dumping prisoners from prisons and that have undermanned police departments. Confine any watch activities to protecting your own home, family and close friends.

Calling 911 has become an exercise in futility because they are slow to answer the phone, those untrained civilians give loads of bad advice and the cops can never arrive in time to prevent rapes, robberies or murders. They can however arrange for a cleanup of a bloody mess and to remove the dead and wounded from the scene.

Be aware of your surroundings and the behavior of others around you, your car or home. Be prepared with sufficient training, weapons and ammunition needed to face multiple armed criminals. Criminals seldom work alone.

If you are the subject of intimidation, bullying or attack respond as your life depends on it because it does. Use your weapon to end the assault and in all but a few scenarios the cowardly criminals will flee without you having to fire a shot.

If on the other hand you fire shots do so with accuracy and a sufficient number of shots to stop the attack cold. Instant one-shot stops are rare except on television.

Once you shoot, it’s time to scoot! Get the Hell away from the danger, accomplices and friends of the person/s you’ve shot.

In Zimmerman’s case, Martin was an athletic six-foot-two-inch tall football player that had him on his back pounding on him. Martin got what he deserved.

You’ve got an absolute Constitutional right not to incriminate yourself. That means you cannot be forced to report to 911 on yourself! You should always as a matter of sound legal advice not to communicate with the police beyond asking them for a lawyer. Save the, “I was in fear of my life” confession for the courtroom and chances are you’ll never see a courtroom.

George Zimmerman should have left the do-gooder block watch duties to anyone else. If that failed he should have resorted to the principal of, shoot, scoot and keep your mouth shut. Doing the Block Watch duties placed Zimmerman in harms way with both criminals and 911 operators.

Today Zimmerman is now the target of a massive racially motivated hate campaign by mobs all over this nation. Zimmerman is now in danger wherever he goes since his published picture and name has given made him as recognizable as any celebrity. Zimmerman has a price on his head and a racist U.S. Attorney General that will do everything possible to persecute him. Zimmerman probably will not survive what’s in store for him.

Someone please tell me the value of cooperating with police under these circumstances. Every 911 call Zimmerman ever made will now be used against him.

Zimmerman’s unpaid Block Watch gig was a really stupid an idea. Always leave police work to the cops.

So when you forced to defend yourself or family the words of the day are SHOOT and SCOOT!

Mainstream Media Race Baiting and Pandering more Phony White on Black Crime Stories

Chicago, IL --Not a week goes by in the Windy City without violent Black on White atrocities motivated by racial hatred. The stories are ignored because they’re deemed to inflammatory to publish. If they’re published at all, great pains are taken by the media to conceal the race of the offenders and victims.

However in those rare cases where it’s White on Black crime they exploit those stories for all they’re worth. The problem is most of them are just stories with few facts to back them up. Remember the infamous Tawana Brawley and Duke LaCrosse Players rape cases? How can we forget all the political posturing and race baiting surrounding those cases? How soon the prosecutions fell apart when they were discovered being motivated by, grand litigious self-enrichment plans.

The Florida self-defense shooting by George Zimmerman of that six foot tall football playing gangbanger, Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman, a Block Watch captain is the newest news fable. Zimmerman called the cops to report Martin’s suspicious behavior. At some point he found himself under the imposing 17 year-old being pummeled and bloodied. A shot was fire and Martin was killed.

The press ran with this story with the angelic picture of Martin when he was years younger and smaller. They told of him being armed only with iced tea and a bag of candy. They media never bothered to flush out witnesses that could shed light on the matter and there was at least one independent witness that clearly established a case of self-defense.

Race baiting by national media organizations is still at a fever pitch as they provide fee publicity to groups such as the New Black Panthers to gather large mobs in every major city. To me this is an intentional effort to start a race war. They even provoked a silly response from that dope in the Whitehouse.

George Zimmerman has a price on his head and I suspect that they will kill him before he faces either civil or criminal proceedings in court.

For now the media and the Obama Justice Department wants to make a Civil Rights hero out of Trayvon Martin. Perhaps they can erect a monument in Washington D.C. to their new icon. Perhaps they can use one of his Facebook pictures of him flashing gang signs while wearing baggy pants pulled below his underwear as a model.

Here is the original police report:

Twin Lakes Shooting Initial Report

Chicago Cops Arresting Reporters, Not a Good Idea

Chicago, IL—As far back as I can remember Chicago cops and local news reporters had conflicts. Cops relate to local media the same way they do the ACLU. Cops hate both until they need them. That in many cases is a dead wrong approach. Reporters seem to think cops are a bunch of poorly educated, heartless Neanderthals that hate everyone. They are also dead wrong.

There is a culture clash between professional journalists and cops. The vast majority of reporters come complete with the liberal brainwashing from their prestigious journalism schools. Nearly all of them support Left Wing politicians and that failed Socialist mentality. They seem to side with Chicago’s leftist politicians on every count. There are few exceptions.

Chicago’s finest on the other hand have learned the folly of Socialism deep in the city’s trenches. Cops see first hand the damage done by Socialists to human beings that are groomed to be ignorant dependents of a welfare state for life. The irreparable damage robs people of self-respect, morale and simple human kindness. Chicago’s poor live in a Socialist state that is nothing less than a serious form of democide and genocide.

Reporters don’t get the education cops get in the streets night after bloody night. Reporters never get to know the horror children are subjected to in the ghettos that turn them into hateful and violent drug addicted adults.

Reporter’s educations are a case of the blind led and taught by the blind. They don’t understand the abject failure of Socialism or Communism as a system of government. In a sterile classroom the Socialist theory seems like a good idea. The reality of Socialism is slavery, degradation and corruption on a grand scale.

Reporters are surprised to learn that a good percentage of cops have solid educations and at one time I remember when over 500 cops were also members in good standing with the Illinois State Bar.

Last week some TV news people found themselves in handcuffs when they got sideways with some cops. It was an ugly scene and a regrettable affair that got some national attention.

I’ve worked both sides of this fence and learned a lot over the past four decades about this cop/reporter culture clash.

Reporters are supposed to get their cop information anywhere they can. The department wants only one authorized information source; the Public Information Office for them to get it and it’s definitely not some street cop.

Street cops on the other hand never want to give reporters anything out of pure spite and department regulations. It’s in the best interest of every working cop to change this misunderstanding. Cops and reporters can work together for a better world.

The fact is cops and reporters should be a little smarter. If street cops will provide the information they can’t get from the department propaganda office they won’t be afraid lose the city administration’s affection. Reporters depend on the department for favoritism and it’s far better they rely on the street cop than some official disinformation officer.

Cops want and need reporters to tell the truth of what’s going on in the trenches. They need to expose how gun control laws do the exact opposite of what they were intended, the deadliness of manpower shortages and training deficiencies. The only way that works is when you make friends instead of foes.

Reporters and cops can do a lot for each other that will aid good public policy. They are far better off working together than separate.

The Coming Obama Coup d'état and What to Expect

Washington, DC—Barack Obama gave himself the tools for absolute power and only a few folks blinked. He knows his ratings are in the toilet and getting worse by the second. Why would this dedicated Communist give up power when he has all the tools needed to maintain control?

Chicago will be ground zero for a major insurrection. Obama’s embedded government minions have done everything possible to make sure Chicago’s police are undermanned, outgunned and demoralized. The cops there will be unable to cope with any real civil disturbances.

Look for an Obama created national emergency that will be his excuse to:

1. Block all public access to the Internet and cell phones.
2. Suspend elections and the civil rights of Americans.
3. Take over control of the media.
4. Seize and control food and gasoline supplies.
5. Seize gun stores.
6. Detain potential resisters to Obama’s Provisional Government.
7. Rewarding supporters with new homes seized by the government.
8. War will be declared on any counter-revolutionary Americans.
9. Add millions of ignorant and unwashed thugs to Homeland Security ranks.
10. Obama will be received by the world as a gentle and benevolent dictator.

If resistance to Obama’s provisional government proves too strong, foreign troops will be invited from China and North Korea to aid in maintaining public safety.

Perhaps now is the time to add a ham radio to your survival kit. If you don’t have a survival kit you’re going to be in serious need.

Today, Everything is in Place for Obama to Declare a National Emergency, Martial Law and Suspend Elections for Public Safety.

Washington, DC—With Barack Obama’s dwindling poll numbers, rising gas prices and a massive first term failure he knows come November he will be removed by the voters.

Obama like all political despots is no fool and seems to have planned a coup d'état to maintain control. Obama has already trashed our Constitution by eliminating Posse Comitatus Act and our right to a Writ of Habeas Corpus as he set new higher bar for government tyranny. Additionally yesterday, he has set up new administrative regulations authorizing the government new tyrannical powers unheard of in America.

Obama is putting into place a chapter of his mentor, Saul Alinsky’s method of operation. Through local community organizing Obama’s minions will step up lawlessness and chaos in America’s ghettos that will impact commerce and public safety in a big way. That will trigger an excuse to suspend elections and shut down all public access to the Internet.

Obama’s next move will be to wage war on political conservatives through arrests, gun confiscation and mass democide.

Chicago will be the epicenter for this plan. They have deliberately allowed the Chicago Police Department to be so lacking in manpower, equipment and training they will be ineffective and unable to stop even the smallest of insurrections.

Obama minions are in total control of Chicago’s Entitlement Zombies that can be counted upon to lay the foundation for a new American Dictatorship. Get ready for redistribution of wealth by force and violence. Get ready for some serious democide and mass incarceration.

This is not some brand new concept. This is a very old story that has played out redundantly since the beginning of governments on Earth. What’s past is prologue. Stop Obama now or he will stop you!

First Order of Business for a Lame Duck, Barack Obama will be Pardons for his Criminal Pals.

Washington, DC—As the shredders are destroying evidence and the movers are placing Barack Obama’s household goods into Chicago bound trucks presidential pardons will be flying everywhere.

At the very top of the pardon list will be Obama’s crooked cronies, Tony Rezko and former Govenor Rod Blagojevich.

Blagojevich, 55 unceremoniously passed through the doors at FCI Englewood prison in Littleton, Colo. to begin serving his 14-year sentence. The way I see it he has less then ten months before he will get his well deserved pardon.

One of Obama’s other pals, Anton “Tony” Rezko is another crook serving time at Club Fed. He will get his pardon too.

The Rezko and Blagojevich pardons are the payback for not snitching on Obama to save their own skins. Pardons as a quid pro quo are demonstrative of the Chicago way.

Additionally I believe that all members of the SDS, Weather Underground, Black Panthers or other subversive groups convicted of federal felonies no matter how serious will be pardoned too.

That will be the end of a very sad chapter of a failed American president. I’m sure that Rezko and Blagojevich are not looking forward for a second term for Obama.

My Favorite Film of All Times is now on Blu-Ray

Los Angeles, CA—I first wrote about this great 2006 film only last August in a review. I caught the film by accident on the Encore Network one night. What a treat it was!

If there is a God of all film directors I’d have to call him, Paul Verhoven(Basic Instinct, Robo Cop,Total Recall and Independence Day). His other films are pretty good to say the least but he hit a Grand-slam Homerun with Black Book.

I have a serious problem. I can’t stop watching this film, over and over. Now it's out on Blu-Ray too!

If you’ve not heard of this film that perhaps because it’s filmed in Dutch, German and only a bit of English. Don’t worry it’s subtitled in your language. The acting is so superb you will become part of it.

This film is based on a true story of a sexy and beautiful Jewish cabaret singer, played by Carice Van Houten, hiding out in Holland for the duration of the war and Nazi occupation. Van Houten’s character, Rachel Stein aka, Ellis de Vries is drafted into the Dutch Underground and spends the last year of the war, 1944-45 as a spy. The dangers Stein faces are unimaginable as she proves to be the ultimate survivor. This film is a non-stop thriller.

Verhoven’s entire cast is terrific. Sebastian Koch plays a kinder, gentler, head of the local Gestapo who understandably falls in love with the beautiful espionage agent. The love scenes are real, since these two actors were smitten both on and off screen. Sadly the distance between Amsterdam and Berlin ended their relationship, according to my very own beautiful spy, Andrea, living in Berlin.

You will need a score card to separate the villains from the good guys as every thrilling scene unfolds. The script written by Gerard Soeteman and Paul Verhoeven is as good as it gets.

You will see and recognize Van Houten, Christian Berkel, Waldemar Kobus and that stunning redhead, Halina Reijn from Black Book in the Film, Valkerie that also stared Tom Cruise as Col. Claus Von Stauffenberg. Reijn shows up, this time as a brunette playing Stauffenberg's secratary.

I think the greatest thrill I’d have in my life would be to work with the incredible cast and crew of Black Book in another great European film. Mr. Verhoven, I’m available! Just have your casting director call my agent! Of course there is my screenplay, Come Friday waiting for someone like you to direct!

Carice Van Houten is very busy making more films right now. She has what it takes to be the greatest leading lady ever.

Don’t rent this film, buy it and see if you can stop watching it.

The cast and crew of Black Book.

The City of Chicago Declared War on Cop Bloggers!

Chicago, IL—Over the last seven years blogging has become popular with many Americans including Windy City cops. Blogs have broken news that media organizations simply wont report.

Having spent the last 24 years as a freelance TV news producer I learned the primary reason that important stories go untold and published. Journalists all think they need cooperation from politicians, bureaucrats and government in order to report news. In fact journalists beg for exclusive tips on government activities like police crackdowns, raids and important crime stories. The payoff for the tips comes in important exposure and glad-handing for certain self-serving accomplishments real or imagined. That, along with killing any unflattering stories.

Reporters can’t seem to develop independent information sources and wrongly think without government official’s help they would be unable to report on government at all. Very few reporters have the courage to become persona non-gratia with any government agency. The unwritten rule is to never make the government Gods angry. If you make them angry you must be able to destroy them or they will punish you for eternity.

Bloggers have little to lose especially ones run by anonymous writers. They can say nearly anything they like without interference or repercussions. Mainstream media types can only dream about having such freedom to report whatever they chose.

Chicago’s politicians and bureaucrats have suffered many embarrassments at the hands of cop bloggers. A WBBM-TV reporter caught the public cowardice of former Superintendent Jody Weis on tape by accident. The cop bloggers and others commenting on these sites were unmerciful and unforgiving as they exploited this story.

Second City Cop had already named Weis, J-Fed because of his past employment with the FBI. After the incident he was quickly renamed J-Fled for his lack of valor. How embarrassing is that? The real problem was that SCC get’s well over 10,000 hits per day but that includes nearly every cop, crime reporter and the others involved in any form of public safety.

Detective Shaved Longcock is another wildly popular cop blogger here that has been absolutely fearless in his open discussions of the out-of-control Black on White crime. He like SCC has ridiculed department brass for their ineffectiveness and incompetence.

The identities of these two bloggers have not been publically established and if they were unmasked they would quickly be made to disappear by their victims.

Personally I share the disdain for the criminal mob running Chicago’s government. I’ve long ago parted ways with the Chicago Police Department and am totally free to blog under may own identity. Any current department members would be crazy to reveal themselves. They would be framed, fired and destroyed at a minimum.

The Chicago Police Department just promulgated a new General Order to its membership regarding blogging or posting on Social Media. It effectively outlaws posting anything not officially approved by the department. The penalty for disobedience is termination from employment. I guess the First Amendment has passed away in my hometown.

This action against the bloggers is the greatest compliment because had they been insignificant and ineffective they’d not have been outlawed.

I’d like to hope that the First Amendment would prevail and the slime running the city would behave themselves a little better. They have targeted the bloggers for total elimination with the new anti-blogging edict.

I’m here to say if my cop blogging colleagues somehow vanish, there will be many more to take their place. Chicago cops know that I will be happy to expose waste, fraud or mismanagement by any Chicago official. They also know that I will relentlessly attack the monster until it’s dead.

Department members have spouses and children that use the Social Media too. The department can’t also claim any jurisdiction over those close to cops that dare to blog.

Update: SCC has hit a speed bump and has gone dark for 24 hours, but that turned out to be a personal issue and not an end to the flow of information. Welcome Back SCC!

The General Order is Below:

The City of Chicago Declared War on Cop Bloggers

Self-Defense Shooting and Your Choice of Ammunition.

Phoenix, AZ—I went to my favorite gun dealer in Arizona, Legendary Guns to purchase some new ammunition for my primary protection.

I asked Paul the salesman who I have known for over two decades, for some decent hollow-point ammunition. Paul asked me with a smile if I wanted the “Zombie Killers”. I thought he was kidding me and I told him I needed them to stop vampires, werewolves and space aliens too!

He handed me a box of Zombie Max bullets! All I could think about is some prosecutor in a self-defense case telling some jury that the defendant had purchased and used bullets called, Zombie Killers. Yikes! I thought, but how will your lawyer explain this?

I looked carefully at the box and could see that it came from the very old and reliable Hornady Manufacturing Company. I looked at the specifications and what was important they matched what I wanted and the Zombie Max rounds did.

In any shooting you must think of public safety as well as your own. You need bullets that will use all of their energy inside your intended target and not cause injury or death to innocent bystanders.

Police agencies use hollow-point rounds for that very reason. It’s not critical that your assailants die but be quickly stopped from killing you and others. The reality is that over 60% of people shot survive anyway.

Should you be charged with a crime or be sued your defense lawyer needs to know exactly why you obtained the ammunition you used. The reality is hype is used to sell everything including ammunition. It’s the technical specifications rather than the name used to promote the product.

Take a look at the webpage and video promoting Zombie Max. http://www.hornady.com/ammunition/zombiemax

Verdict reached in LAPD Detectives Murder Trial

Los Angeles, CA—In a story of love gone wrong, jealousy and death a career LAPD cop's life hangs in the balance.

What ever happened between Stephanie Lazarus and Sheri Rasmussen remains a secret. Lazarus did not take the stand and the case was reduced to a DNA sample that was kept in exposed and insecure conditions for two decades. There is no living witness to the event that killed Rasmussen.

A jury empaneled has made their guess and announced that they reached a unanimous verdict that will be released at 1:30 PM Pacific Time.

I don’t feel good for the defense and believe this should have been tried as a self-defense case. The larger and more athletic Rasmussen may have begun a fatal fight. There were problems with that because if this was a self-defense case a frightened, young policewomen covered up the event.

If it was self-defense, fleeing the scene and not telling anyone is no crime. However, any jury would frown upon rearranging the scene to make it look like a burglary.

Second guessing the defense lawyer is always easy when he loses a case. Right now we will just have to wait for the verdict to be read.

I hate human lives being saved or destroyed by a guess. That’s exactly what this verdict will be. I wish Lazarus and her family luck.

Update: Lazarus was convicted of 1st Degree Murder and use of a gun. She is facing 25 years to life with a chance of parole. Had she taken the self-defense route it would have been much better. At worst she would have gotten a 2nd degree conviction...

Having Fun at Winter Range In Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ—Every year at this time at the world class Ben Avery Shooting Range operated by the State Game and Fish Department is an event called Winter Range. This is for shooters and fans of the old West.

There are shooting events for both mounted cowboys and everyone else. The rules are you must be dressed properly and use firearms for the 1800’s and early 20th century.

What I do there is hang out with my friends at Eagle Grips that are show vendors. I see and socialize with lots of friends for this weeklong event. I shot a little video of a tiny portion of what’s there but it will give you an idea what its like.

Prison Inmate Media Interviews and Government

Phoenix, AZ—It should be obvious that with changes in laws, technology and court rules we have become a Police State. If you don’t think that’s the case look at those thousands of surveillance cameras or try to bring your own into a Federal building.

A genuine sign of this is how accused people and the media is obstructed from communication with each other.

We arrest and imprison people and sequester them from the prying eyes of the media. What it’s really about is preventing inmates from telling their troubles to the media. Government bureaucrats have clearly facilitated and enabled cover-ups by preventing the media from interviewing prisoners face to face.

The bureaucrats know that television won’t do a telephone interview because that media can only operate effectively with video. With a ban of face-to-face interviews the public will only see what these penal institutions want them to see.

From a simple human rights and fairness issue prisoners should be allowed access to the media to, express remorse, ask for forgiveness or to challenge the accusations made against them. In death penalty cases those condemned to die should have the ability to fight for their lives through video interviews.

Arizona and California precludes television interviews however Texas does not.

It’s really not much to ask for and claims that there is a security risk are purely bogus. If they were that concerned they could facilitate Skype.com interviews. The bureaucrats are afraid of exposure for their own deeds and nothing more.

The last issue here concerns crime victims. Not every crime victim is a victim. Many people are designated as victims simply because they successfully misled authorities and gave false testimony against people they accused. The claim of protecting victims from reliving their bad experiences watching prison inmates in news programing is pathetic to say the least.

Is anyone somehow damaged if we allow some condemned soul to beg for their life in a broadcast video interview? Must we be void of any humanity?

All prison and jail inmates deserve the right to have total voluntary access to journalists of every medium.

Chicago is Spared! The G-8 Summit has been moved to Camp David!

Chicago, IL—Chicago was preparing for an epic battle between demonstrators and police at the upcoming G-8 Summit.

It would have been expensive, ugly and perhaps very bloody. Businesses expected to be firebombed or at a minimum suffered lots of broken glass and looting.

The cops I know had little interest in doing anything but worrying about self-preservation. Protecting businesses on behalf of city officials loathed by the cops during this circus generated little interest and a lot of resentment. Why risk suffering injuries, bogus brutality allegations and criminal Indictment at the hands of that total douchebag State’s Attorney, Anita Alvarez?

My guess was the undermanned, outgunned and demoralized Chicago cops would have simply stood by and watched the city burn.

It’s obvious that Rham Emanuel and Barack Obama knew this would become a public relations disaster and jointly moved it to the more easily protected rural area of Camp David.

This planned fiasco would have cost Chicago taxpayers untold millions.

William Heirens, is Near Death Today in a Chicago Hospice

Chicago, IL—Most of my readers know that I hate the death penalty and consider the American criminal justice system deeply flawed. Either the innocent are convicted or dangerous criminals are given freedom far too early endangering society. My personal quote is, “If justice happens it’s usually by accident and for all the wrong reasons.”

A single mother, who was most of the time only one step ahead of the Sheriff’s eviction team, raised me on Chicago’s North side. Just two years before I was born there were three ugly murders. My mother warned me about strangers and a man named William Heirens. Heirens was the proverbial boogyman.

Two adult women Josephine Ross, Frances Brown and six year-old Suzanne Degnan, were murdered. The Degnan killing was unusually depraved because she was cut up and her body parts dumped in various catch basins in the neighborhood.

William Heirens confessed to these crimes and entered a Guilty Plea in court avoiding Cook County Jail’s busy electric chair. The way that happened is shameful in a civilized nation that claims to be fair and just.

There were also incredible similarities between the Degnan murder and the Lindberg kidnapping murder decades earlier. A ladder was found leading up to her window at her North Kenmore avenue apartment and police found a poorly drafted ransom note.

William Heirens was a juvenile serial burglar. He was also a genius who went from a Catholic reform school to the prestigious University of Chicago. He became one of many suspects.

Three men were hauled in for the Degnan murder in series of dreadful arrests. A janitor, Hector Verburgh, 65 was arrested, beaten until he confessed, smeared in the press as a deranged killer and soon released when it was learned he was unable to write English. He sued the cops and was awarded a money judgment.

Sidney Sherman was a recently discharged WWII marine living in the South side Hyde Park YMCA, who became the next subject of a nationwide dragnet for the Degnan murder. He was hauled in, took and passed a polygraph test and had an alibi. They released Sherman.

William Heirens, was soon bagged by the cops, beaten and forced to confess to the Degnan murder. The incredible film noir photographs of Heirens above speak for themselves. Over the years Chicago cops gained a reputation of being proficient medieval torturers who could get anyone to confess to anything.

Heirens was subjected to the unprecedented forced administration of the drug sodium pentathol and interrogated under its influence. The drug was debunked as a “truth serum” many decades ago. Police also compelled Heirens to recreate the crimes for press photographers.

At the apartment of Frances Brown there was a bloody fingerprint left behind that was the subject of mixed opinions as to being left by Heirens. He was excluded initially and later implicated by latent print examiners. The Brown apartment was also where that infamous message written in Brown’s lipstick, presumably by the killer, “For heavens sake catch me before I kill more I cannot control myself.” The media used that passage to call Heirens, The Lipstick Killer.

There was yet another confession however there was no beating or coercion involved. That came from a convicted child molester, Richard Russell Thomas. Thomas was a Chicago musician, nurse and a song-writer who was in custody of the Phoenix, Arizona police for an unrelated crime. Thomas freely confessed to the Degnan murder and it was learned he was a regular at a used car lot very close to Degnan’s home at the time of the murder.

About fifteen years ago ABC World News Tonight asked me to track Thomas down if I could for a story they were doing about Heirens. I soon leaned that Thomas had passed away in Austin, Texas. I located living family members that confirmed the confession and were actually convinced Thomas, not Heirens killed the little girl.

On an interesting side note, Thomas’ family members told me that he wrote the song that became a hit record for Les Paul and Mary Ford called, Vaya Con Dios My Darling. Thomas sold the song to the person now credited for its origin.

At the time of the ABC News request, the renowned death penalty lawyer, Jed Stone, represented Heirens. I called Stone who was very busy working on clemency for Heirens for information for our story. Later I found myself blessed to be working as Stone’s investigator on important cases and today we are good friends.

I learned that Heirens was recently given a medical furlough from the Dixon Correctional Center medium security prison in Dixon, Illinois. I know he was blind, in a wheelchair suffering from diabetes. Today Heirens 83 years-old and has served more time in prison that any other inmate in Illinois to date.

I contacted Stone who sadly told me that Heirens was sent to the hospice, is receiving a morphine drip and is not expected to survive the week. Stone gave me the following statement:

“Bill Heirens has spent over six decades behind bars for crimes he did not commit. And yet it cannot be said that Bill's life was wasted. He earned a college degree and learned to paint. He worked within the prison walls and earned the respect of wardens and guards, chaplains and inmates.

Bill became skilled as a prison lawyer and has written more winning briefs than most lawyers I know. At his 1995 clemency hearing the audience contained many men, once prisoners, now free, there to express gratitude for Bill Heirens.

As a boy growing up on Chicago's North side, I was told that Bill Heirens was the boogieman. Many years later when I became Bill's lawyer, he became my friend. We have exchanged birthday and holiday cards. One of his watercolors hangs prominently in my office library. I am saddened by the thought that I could not win his freedom.”

Update, I woke up to the news that William Heirens died hours after I posted this article. He died at Chicago’s UIC medical center. This morning he is at the Cook County Morgue. I suspect that there will be a memorial service of some type and we will all learn about positive contributions to society by this man. Heirens was 83.

That watercolor Painting:



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Hate Mainstream Media Propaganda? Getting the Truth Out has Never Been Easier.

Los Angeles, CA—With the death of that young Internet giant Andrew Breitbart people are discovering what gave this genius the power and those financial rewards.

At a young age Breitbart began with two startup blogs, The Drudge Report and The Huffington Post taking them to incredible heights and readership. Those sites are user friendly, technical marvels that have all but destroyed TV news and mainstream paper publications. They began with the printed word, then soon added photographs and now there are significant amounts of quality video.

Those wonderful flat-panel TVs we own can now deliver Internet content that’s far more diverse and reliable than what CBS, NBC or ABC brought us. Unfortunately there are still not enough ordinary folks have the equipment and skills to deliver video content. That’s rapidly changing.

All that’s needed is someone with minimal skill, $5,000.00 worth of equipment and a decent broadband Internet connection. Now that really enables and facilitates democratization of a truly magical form of mass media. Yes, even you can do this.

Cameras are smaller, better and cheaper than ever. That creates vast opportunities to locate, document and expose government abuse and corruption. Government workers are in a position to see how billions of dollars are wasted and can pull a really tiny camera out, shoot it and and show the world once the video is uploaded.

Need training you say? There’s lots of it out there free on YouTube. There is hardly a piece of equipment in existence that someone has not created a tutorial to help you learn. There are schools that offer both classroom and on-line instruction such as the New York Video School.

Andrew Breitbart was a Conservative political bomb thrower that was either loved or hated. There was no middle ground with this icon. No matter your political beliefs you can learn from Breitbart’s accomplishments. Breitbart should be an inspiration to everyone that they too can have a voice.

If you want to avoid that political intrigue, conflict and discord you can help the world master skills that have benefitted you. Of course you can develop your skills as an entertainer too.

Age is a huge issue with the Internet since millions of older people don’t think they can learn. They’re dead wrong. They can overcome technophobia if they bother to try. They include too many doctors, lawyers and other educated professionals. They are our parents and we need to help them with this aspect.

Here is a video about video production equipment I put up a while ago...