Los Angeles, CA —Aside from being a licensed investigator and an investigative TV news producer, I’m an actor and a member of SAG-AFTRA since 1997. I watched the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman play his very diverse roles with absolute envy.  Hoffman walked away with an Oscar for playing Truman Capote.   Capote was a flaming Gay toad with a real gift for writing that was very comfortable with his bizarre persona. Hoffman by all accounts was a straight guy with a longtime girlfriend with three children.  He simply had a gift to make any character he played really believable. Hoffman became his characters, bringing real life to the words written in a film script.  That took tremendous discipline that was very inconsistent with his apparent drug addiction. My first acting coach at Arizona State University made it clear to me that if I was afraid to look foolish or strange before an audience I’d be better off not acting.   I thought of how I really ...

Chicago, IL —In February of 2005 off duty railroad cop Howard Morgan was shot by Chicago police officers at least 25 times.  Somehow Morgan miraculously survived but currently sits convicted in an Illinois prison for many more years than he has left on this earth. I wrote about this strange case when it happened. There are still many more questions than answers.  Something awful happened during that traffic stop in the Lawndale neighborhood that led to a horrific firefight. Chicago police officials could not seem to find a motive for their claim of Morgan’s attack on their officers.   The only thing that ever made sense to me was a sudden misunderstanding that provoked the firefight. I don’t for a second accept the idea Morgan simply went from law-abiding citizen and former Chicago cop, to a railroad policeman and then finally became a mad dog killer. This case never made sense to me.   It needs to be reinvestigated and I want the job. ...

New York, NY —Becoming a successful actor is incredibly difficult for most even if they have talent. Just getting a decent manager and or agent is a major task.  An actor without an agent is unemployed. Aside from my investigative and media work I'm an actor.  I did my best work in  community  theater.  I’ve had a SAG-AFTRA membership card since 1997.  I did a few  forgettable TV spots and  films before a serious hearing loss problem sidelined me.   I have great hearing aids now but my age is not helping me to get motivated again.   46 year-old Phillip Seymour Hoffman made to the RED Oscar Carpet winning as Best Actor for his role in Capote.  His career was on fire!   Hoffman was also successful producer and director.  He was currently filming for the Hunger Games franchise.  Hoffman confessed addiction problems and did a stint in rehab.  His premature death seems to indicate this was a...

Chicago, IL —Before 1969 divorce was no simple process in most jurisdictions.  The laws were designed to make divorce difficult with the idea that couples could solve their differences and continue to responsibly raise their children. There had to be specific grounds and the most popular was “extreme cruelty”.  There was abandonment and adultery, however they were much more difficult to prove.  The petitioner had to prove that the marriage had not only failed but was dangerous! Without what we’d today call terroristic threats, a divorce would not be granted. The lawyers would all tell their clients, “Don’t worry it’s only a formality, just sign here or no divorce.” If you go to the court clerk’s office and pull random case files they’re all carbon copies of each other. “The Respondent has repeatedly pulled a handgun on Petitioner threatening to kill her”  was written right at the top of nearly every petition! The respondent in most cases also...

Washington, DC —The basic Human Rights Protections given to us through the blood of patriots and tyrants in the Bill of Rights are all but dead. Should you try and obtain a copy of the simple and plain English version by an Internet search it will be quite a challenge.  Instead you will get paraphrased versions with lots of “explanations” by so-called legal scholars. The actual text is far too dangerous to publish.  People would certainly be “misled” into believing our government has become lawless and tyrannical. Essentially the Far Left Wing of our academia all want us to believe that the words don’t mean what they say.  They want us to accept that only intellectually superior people like them can understand simple words. The authors of our Bill of Right deliberately made tampering with this important human rights document very difficult.   A simple majority vote cannot change our Constitution.  The Left Wing hates our Constitut...

Los Angeles, CA —With the shrinking TV audience brought on by competitive cable TV channels and unlimited Internet sources technology determines everything. TV news once provided terrific jobs for photographers, producers and reporters.   Pink slips have been raining in newsrooms all over the world.   Newspapers were limited to putting words and pictures on pulp newsprint and even that was difficult and expensive. The sheer competition has dramatically reduced the revenue that feeds news providers and their workers. Now they all are scrambling to stay in business, keep roofs over their heads and food on their tables. Newspaper and television executives are slowly learning that putting their content on the Internet is the only way to survive.   Suddenly anyone who can write, shot still pictures and much better yet video can compete with the incredible shrinking big boys of television. With these changes newspapers have actually bagged some Emmy...