Beatles, mayoral training and Judges

AUGUST 31, 2010




Lucas said; “ It’s difficult to pick only three.” His are:



1. Drive my car

2. Help

3. When I’m Sixty-four.



I like;



1. Baby you can drive my car (same as Lucas)

2. My Life

3. Yesterday



My favorites will probably change the next time I hear a Beatles Album, CD or tape.



Joanne says; “Here are my Faves.”



1. Lemon tree

2. Rocky raccoon

3. Let it be “I know it’s the typical song to name but it still brings chills!”



Nice call, Joanne.



For you Dean Martin fans out there; “Keep those cards and letters coming in folks.”



So far, only Baby you can drive my car has more than one first place vote.



I got a little hassle about ripping education. I did not want to convey the thought education is the only cause for our societal problems but it belongs on the list, with absentee fathers, lack of discipline and many other causes. Being a single parent is usually a choice and is too often used as a crutch for failure or laziness. Just my opinion, no offense or harm meant.



Check out the pictures of the day from Mondays Christian Science Monitor. The one of the alligator in Portland, Oregon is cool.



Another slow news day. I did see where the Mayor of DeKalb, IL was participating in emergency training, attempting to open a car door in a simulated auto accident. The mayor is likely a good man but he does not need this type of training in his retirement. I hope a real emergency responder was not deprived of real training so the mayor could play games and get a photo op.



The Hurricane season is apparently ramping up in the Atlantic. Three storms are being closely monitored at this time. None is expected to hit the Gulf Coast but New England may see some action. I bet the response to any weather emergency in New England is quicker and more detailed than it was for the Gulf Coast, or ever has been. I suspect this will not be because we have learned anything, it is because of who lives in New England.



The Manny era starts today for the White Sox. I hope I am wrong but I don’t think he will be the needed savior. If he could only pitch in relief?



Go to The Christian Science Monitor website and check out the “Puppies around the World” pictorial.

www.csmonitor.com



According to the Huffington Post, 1 in 8 Federal Judgeships are unfilled. Of course, each party is blaming the other. You would think if over 12% of the Judgeships are empty, we should be saving a bunch of money on salary, benefits, staff, office space, etc. but we are not. If the Judiciary is still operating efficiently, governmentally speaking, perhaps we do not need the Judges Obama has not appointed? I think we should pass a law reducing the number of Judgeships we have. That would shake up the pork our elected officials have to hand out to supporters. A federal Judgeship is a lifetime appointment. They make close to $200,000.00 per year, not including staff, office costs, retirement and benefits. A Judge has to be impeached to lose the job. It happens but not often. Usually a Judge retires in order to save his/her retirement benefits.







BRUCE A. BRENNAN

brucebrennanlaw.com

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

Blog:bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

Katrina and Rachel Alexandra

AUGUST 30, 2010




Try playing the song below by opening this BLOG through Firefox or Internet Explorer. It seems to work better.



http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/When+The+Levee+Breaks/2vDdH9?utm_campaign=grooveshark-app&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share&utm_content=call-to-action





Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005. Katrina was a natural disaster. What happened to New Orleans was not. The Levees broke around New Orleans. That is what flooded the City. It was a man-made disaster. The inept human response was shameful and unfortunately an example of our government at work.





“Three favorite Beatles’ songs, out of 301” from follower Pattom



1. Let It Be

2. Twist 'n Shout

3. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da



Andy said:



1. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

You knew some hippy would pick LSD

2. Hello. Goodbye

3. Eleanor Rigby



“It’s difficult to pick only three”



Let’s get more votes in. either Email me or post a comment with your vote.



I and my wife went to a wedding Saturday. It was on the boat Odyssey that anchors off Navy Pier in Chicago. It was a beautiful day, the Tall Ships Show was at Navy Pier and the water was calm. The cruise lasted two and one-half hours but we were on the boat for four hours. We were with a couple of our friends, Glenn and Rachel Hofer. Glenn is the owner of INDEVCON, an environmental remediation company. Give him a call for all things environmental. His Website is:



www.envirofixer.com



The couple that took the plunge are Nathan and now, Erika Majchrzak. It was a glorious day and wedding and we wish them the best. Nathan is a Mortgage broker who can always use more business. Check him out at:



http://www.loangistics.com/index.php



Rachel Alexandra lost in the Personal Ensign at Saratoga Sunday. The race is a Grade I race, the top race in the horse racing business. The Triple Crown races are all Grade I. The race was 1 ¼ mile in length. That is the classic distance in America. The Kentucky Derby is the same length. This was the first time Rachel Alexandra ran that far. She clearly was running out of gas near the end. Her jockey, Calvin Borel, a good jockey, took her to a big lead early and spent her energy. She was not beat by a better horse but she was beat. She was also running in open company, meaning male horses were in the race, for only the second time. She has never lost to an all female field. We will see what she does in the Breeder’s Cup, coming November 5th and 6th from Churchill Downs. The Breeders Cup is run over two days. Rachel Alexandra should run on Saturday, day two. Persistently won the race and paid $45.00 for your $2.00 win bet. Not a bad return for 2 minutes 4.49 seconds of race time.



A thoroughbred horse weighs around 1100 lbs. The females, called fillies and mares, usually weigh fifty or so lbs. less than the males. Fillies and mares also have less stamina, meaning they do not run the long races as well as the boys. Since horse racing is a handicapped sport, the girls often carry less weight than the boys. The weights are adjusted by adding or subtracting flat weights that are inserted in the saddle. The weights are usually about 126 lbs. meaning the jockey and saddle, with weights added, weigh 126 lbs. A filly might carry 121 lbs in such a race.













BRUCE A. BRENNAN

brucebrennanlaw.com

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

Blog:bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

Football, Drug Cartels and Beatles survey

AUGUST 29, 2010




HAPPY SUNDAY



Sycamore High School won handily in Chicago on Saturday evening. The DeKalb – Sycamore game could be a real fun game to watch in two weeks. The night game is scheduled for Sept. 10, 2010. Plan on attending the local rivalry game.



Do you think Sycamore and DeKalb could beat the uninspired and uninspiring Chicago Bears? They looked pathetic Saturday night against the Arizona Cardinals in a 14-9 loss at home.



This week there was some news in the papers and on the TV about a mass killing in Mexico involving a Drug Cartel. 72 people were murdered. Sounds like the United States is going to have to mount our white horse and charge into another country that does not like us or want us there.



Remember the Virtual Fence we were to build between Mexico and the United States to control illegal immigration. We built it so well, we cannot find it. It is invisible by design but we ought to know where it is. Do we know where it is and if it is working? You can Google numerous sights on the web and see video of illegals crossing into our country from Mexico. If these cameras can find them why can’t our trained border control guards?



Apparently the 72 murder victims were kidnapped and murdered after their families could not pay the ransom demand. Kidnapping is a big problem in that part of the world.


According to the Huffington Post:
Ten interesting facts about the Mexican Drug Cartels
1. A recent U.S. government report suggests that "Two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico."

2. Mexico has one of the highest kidnapping rates in the world: An average of 70 people are abducted each month.

3. More than 1,100 guns found discarded at Mexico shooting scenes or confiscated from cartel gangsters were traced to Texas gun merchants in 2007.

4. One of Mexico's most notorious drug kingpins, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, escaped a maximum security prison in 2001 by driving out in a laundry truck.

5. This year Forbes magazine included Joaquin Guzman, a Mexican drug lord, on its annual billionaires' list.

6. A drug cartel hood named "The Cook" reportedly dissolved the bodies of 300 victims in acid as part of the grisly work he committed for crime bosses.

7. The FBI has reported 75 open cases of Americans kidnapped in Mexico.

8. In a poll by the daily newspaper La Reforma, Mexico City residents ranked public insecurity as a worse crisis than the economy by a 5-to-1 margin. In the past year, 20 percent were crime victims.

9. In the past year, Mexico's civil drug war has claimed some 6,300 lives.

10. Grammy-nominated singer Sergio Gomez was kidnapped and his genitals were burned with a blowtorch in December 2007, presumably for singing narco corridos, or "drug ballads."



www.huffingtonpost.com

It is a good website although often times infuriating and wrong.



A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson is a wonderful read. It is a book you can read for five minutes and enjoy it or pick it up and read until you have finished it. Either way, when you put the book down, you will be smarter. Much of the information you learned before, so this book offers a refresher course. The rest of the information you and all of us should have learned before. This book belongs in every home in America. The author also has a kids’ friendly version, suitable for younger readers or anyone else with a shorter attention span.



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Tell me your favorite Beatles song. We will get our survey going too. Rate your top three, 1 through 3.



BRUCE A. BRENNAN

brucebrennanlaw.com

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

Blog:bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

Weekend ramblings

AUGUST 28, 2010



HAPPY SATURDAY



Congratulations to the DeKalb Barbs for a hard fought, exciting win, 28-21. The Barbs scored in the final thirty seconds for the win. Good Luck to the Sycamore Spartans who play tonight at 7:30.



I feel President Obama is unintentionally destroying our country. At least I hope it is unintentional. For the past several decades, society has degraded into a mob of uneducated, uncivilized, lazy, selfish and violent individuals. President Obama seems to support all these liberal ideas, propping up the poor and, in his mind, the disadvantaged. They are poor and disadvantaged because we have created millions of people like this.



This has many causes and the exact start of the degradation of our society is hard to establish. I grew up as a Catholic. The church used to publish a list of approved movies. You did not go to a movie on the “bad” list. During the 50s and 60s, movies did not readily include nudity, frank sexual talk or action and rampant swearing. Once it was accepted from Hollywood, it became part of everyday life. Everybody went to the movies whether approved or not.



Welfare and other forms of entitlement programs were truly for the needy. Generally, churches and charities took care of the needy, which was viewed as a temporary situation not to be proud of or accept as a matter of life. Persons worked to get off the government dowl. People rightly thought they were not carrying their weight when they accepted freebies and lived off someone else.



The Birth Control pill has helped tear society down. Have sex for recreation, not for love. You can’t get pregnant. Sexually transmitted diseases became a real problem because of the proliferation of out-of-wedlock sex.



Just the name “entitlement programs” says it all. People think they are entitled to government handouts even though they have done nothing to pay into the welfare coffers. Generations of people not exist that know no other way of life.



Then we have schools. For years we did not teach our children. Youngsters were socially promoted to the next grade level. We sure didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Now we have millions of citizens from forty on down who cannot function in the world. So we pay them, give them housing, food stamps, child care, medical care, an education they don’t want and won’t take advantage of and everything else one needs in life.



Let us review the criminal justice system. We overcharge many people with crimes, knowing all charges will not be proved or some will be dismissed in plea negotiations. The person is then convicted of a crime. Many times, the sentence includes community service hours of work or a type of counseling or therapy. The community service hours have not made a noticeable difference in the community. Are our parks cleaner? Streets cleaner? Any work the now convicted criminal does deprives a law=abiding employee a job. Where is the equity in that? The counseling or therapy is also a failure. Who pays for the counseling or the therapy? Not the criminal in most cases. Before counseling or therapy is successful, a participant has to want the help. Forcing a criminal to go to counseling or therapy does not accomplish that. The criminal; puts up with it to complete his/her sentence that is all.



We cannot always blame liberal Judges for the lenient sentences. Many crimes come with a mandatory sentence. This is another example of an unfunded mandate from the legislature. They pass a law, forcing local government to do certain things but do not provide any money to implement the new law. They tack a fee onto the criminals sentence to allegedly funding the new mandate even though the criminal will never pay the fine or cost.



Sending a person to jail treats them as they should be treated. It also prevents additional crimes on society while that person is incarcerated. Truth in sentencing would also help. The prosecuting attorneys like to brag about conviction rates and those sent to prison. In Illinois, if you are sentenced to 18 months in prison, you get nine months off for good behavior, so it is nine months. You then get six months off because it was a non-violent crime (most 18 month sentences are for non-violent crimes). So the 18 months become 3 months. If a criminal took jail time in the County Jail, they would not get the 6 months off for non-violent crimes. They would serve longer in the County Jail than in State prison. What is wrong with that picture?



Many criminals get three to five convictions before jail time is seriously considered. By then they are career criminals and not very good ones since they keep getting caught. Nip the criminal behavior in the bud before it becomes part of a person’s life. That will save us all money and perhaps the criminal from a life of petty crimes, drug and alcohol abuse, unwanted and unpaid for children and graduation to more serious crimes, perhaps violent crimes.



I know it is not fair or reasonable to incarcerate every criminal. Some crimes society allows people to break if they want to pay a fine or live under some type of Court Supervision. That is fine. That option is just used too often.



We can build more and bigger prisons. Instead of having a criminal complete community service by picking up litter or painting park benches, why don’t we have them work on building the prisons most will someday live in?



Education is broke. Welfare is broke. The justice system is broke. We bailed out Wall Street, banks, car companies, airlines and many other businesses that could not make it in the free market world. We should let them fail and go out of business.



We regulate business to near extinction. In the late 80s and early 90s the government sued lenders because they were not lending money in certain areas of many big cities. Red-lining it was called. The lenders were not making these loans because they knew it was a bad risk.

The government forced them to make these mortgage loans and within five years, the lenders were failing. Wonder why? Obama did most of the bailing out but he hasn’t tried to fix the schools.



You cannot fix every problem by spending more money. If the people in charge are failing with one dollar and you give them another dollar, they will then fail with two dollars. Change those in charge not the budget. Obama hired a guy from a failed Wall Street company to become treasury secretary. Does anybody but me see the stupidity in that reasoning? Let someone incompetent make a mess and then hire him to clean it up. That is good for job security but not for the tax payer. Why is Bernanke still in charge of the Federal Reserve System? The economy collapsed on his watch. He should be fired for allowing that to happen if not for not seeing it coming.



A non-violent revolution is percolating just under the surface of America. Most of us are sick of working hard to support lazy, welfare sucking criminals who do not deserve it or appreciate it. The government then raises the workers’ taxes or attaches a fee to a product or service in order to generate money to give away. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. WISE UP AMERICA before it is too late and there is a violent revolution.



The government is aware of the discontent in America. That is one of the biggest reasons it wants to take our guns away. If only the government, police and military have guns, it is difficult to sustain an uprising. The first thing Hitler did once he took power was to outlaw private gun ownership. If we don’t learn from history we are doomed to repeat it.



I do not want to get started on health reform. Obama took a working system, increased the cost and broke it.



If we need tax revenue so bad, why don’t we take away the tax exempt status of religions, all religions? No one could complain then, although plenty will, especially Jesse Jackson, the alleged reverend. Besides, the government has pretty much become a charity for the needy already.



We are told the increase in taxes and government fees is needed to prop up the economy, fix roads and bridges, hire police and firefighters, build schools and fund education’s other needs. Isn’t that what the government is supposed to do? Other than provide military protection, which we do for countries other than our own, the government is designed to develop the infra-structure. Why do we have to pay for it twice?



This is just some food for light weekend thought and discussion.



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BRUCE A. BRENNAN

brucebrennanlaw.com

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

Blog:bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

"I read the news today OHH BOY" The Beatles and "The Christian Science Monitor"

AUGUST 27, 2010




“I read the news today---OHH BOY” The opening line from A Day In The Life, recently determined to be the greatest Beatle song of all time. It is from the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Five thru two are, in order, 5. In My Life, 4. Yesterday, 3. Strawberry Fields Forever, 2. I Want To Hold Your Hand. I always liked Baby You Can Drive My Car, but it was not in the top five. Rolling Stone magazine has the top 100 in the current issue available today.



http://dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com/2010/05/chocolate-calculator.html



Check this out. It will figure your age by chocolate. It takes a minute or so. Double-click or copy and paste, you know the drill.



Same deal with the website below. This is the Christian Science Monitor website. Double-click or copy and paste. Once there, click on the Photos of the day in the upper right-hand corner. These pictures are usually awesome; today’s are.



http://www.csmonitor.com/



The only thing wrong with the information and contract clauses below is that it is not me. Check this story out.



http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/worklife/04/24/weird.baseball.contracts/index.html



The local news in DeKalb, IL is a little slow. Sycamore, IL, after imposing large impact fees on builders that helped contribute to the collapse of the construction business in that town is now considering eliminating or lowering the fees in an attempt to revive the construction business. Why don’t politicians stay out of the free-market economy. Just because an industry is popular and thriving does not mean government has to tax it. This is not the first time government has taxed a business nearly out of existence. That may be justified in adult entertainment businesses but not in housing.



Start your day off with a little humor. Go to:



www.cleanjoke.com



Check out the joke “Jesus saves” under best jokes.



I would like to thank all of the followers from Flightstar in Champaign, IL. Flightstar is the Fixed Base Operator at the Champaign, IL airport. The airport is actually the Champaign-Urbana Willard Airport. Check out their website. It has plenty of links within it to help with your air travel.



www.flightstar.com



I know a couple of the pilots working at Flightstar, including my nephew. The Flightstar employees are dedicated and professional people concerned with your comfort and safety. Check them out and remember Flightstar in planning any personal or business travel



Since I am giving out ATTABOYZ, I also strongly recommend Unlimited Performance for all rehabilitation you or a family member may require. They are a local company associated with Kishwaukee Hospital. You can find out all about Unlimited Performance at:

www.unlimitedperformance.org



Tell David he is doing a fine job with Bruce A. Brennan.



HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND.



BRUCE A. BRENNAN

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

BLOG:bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

Humming Birds, Viet Nam and a Tornado

August 26, 2010




Well, it is Thursday already. The weekend is just about here.



Check out these photos from The Christian Science Monitor. You will have to copy and paste into your browser’s address line if double-clicking doesn’t work. They are pretty neat.



http://www.csmonitor.com/CSM-Photo-Galleries/Photos-of-the-Day/2010/Photos-of-the-Day-08-24



I see where the I-88 and Peace Road interchanges will be closing down in September. Not all at once but staggered. The Daily Chronicle has more details at http://www.daily-chronicle.com/

You will have to copy and paste if double-clicking doesn’t work again.







Check out the Humming Birds. Isn’it A Wonderful World

Subject: : Hummingbirds...Magic in the Air.

Allow some time. This is pretty long-but-interestingly enjoyable to many. Particularly the nature lovers out there.

This is footage that you will probably never see anywhere else.

A fantastic look at Hummingbirds using High Definition cameras

Click your mouse here or copy and paste:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=hjnc1kHMDDo&feature=player_embedded



For an abrupt change of subjects but to an important one:

THE VIET NAM WAR WAS HELL FOR THOSE OF US WHO LIVED THROUGH THAT WAR AND TIME. I HAD A DRAFT LOTTERY NUMBER BUT WAS NOT CALLED. CHECK OUT THE INFORMATION BELOW:



This is something







First click on a state. When it opens, scroll down to the city and the names will appear. Then click on their names. It should show you a picture of the person, or at least their bio and medals.



This really is an amazing web site. Someone spent a lot of time and effort to create it.



I hope that everyone who receives this appreciates what those who served in Vietnam sacrificed for our country.



The link below is a virtual wall of all those lost during the Vietnam war

with the names, bio's and other information on our lost heroes. Those who remember that timeframe, or perhaps lost friends or family can look them up on this site. Pass the link on to others if you like.



http://www.virtualwall.org/iStates.htm







I had a cousin, Paul Woolford, from Streator, IL killed in Viet Nam. It was a tough thing to go through for an eleven year old boy but, life goes on.



Speaking of Streator, IL copy and paste or double-click, however you can open it, the website below. It concerns the tornado in Streator, IL June 5, 2010. June 5th happens to be I and my wife’s anniversary. I was born in Streator, IL, she was not.



The world can be a wonderful, beautiful place and an ugly destructive place, all at the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xzCFlKZWik

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BRUCE A. BRENNAN

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

BLOG:bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

Poor cities, election, "Don't ask, don't tell"

August 25, 2010

Good day. Probably not for the residents of the ten cities listed below. This is something I took off the web. It may not be accurate but, I think it is. The Einstein quote is accurate. The Abraham Lincoln quote is also an accurate quote.


10 poorest Cities

Poverty in Our Cities.

City, State, % of People Below the Poverty Level

1. Detroit , MI

32.5%

2. Buffalo , NY

29.9%

3. Cincinnati , OH

27.8%

4. Cleveland , OH

27.0%

5. Miami , FL

26.9%

5. St. Louis , MO

26.8%

7. El Paso , TX

26.4%



8. Milwaukee , WI

26.2%

9. Philadelphia , PA

25.1%

10. Newark , NJ

24.2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey, August 2007

What do the top ten cities (over 250,000) with the highest poverty rate all have in common?

Detroit, MI (1st on the poverty rate list) hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1961;

Buffalo, NY (2nd) hasn't elected one since 1954;
Cincinnati, OH (3rd)...since 1984;
Cleveland, OH (4th)...since 1989;
Miami, FL (5th) has never had a Republican mayor;
St. Louis, MO (6th).....since 1949;
El Paso, TX (7th) has never had a Republican mayor;
Milwaukee , WI (8th)...since 1908;
Philadelphia , PA (9th)...since 1952;
Newark , NJ (10th)...since 1907.

Einstein once said, "The

definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

It is the poor who habitually elect Democrats---yet they are still POOR



"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.

You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."

Abraham Lincoln



Two rather bright individuals cannot be all wrong. Perhaps we should try it another way. The two-party system is no longer working. The one-party system never works. The attempts at starting a third or independent party has never resulted in a viable candidate, usually promoting someone that is too far from main stream to matter. It is time to blow it up and start over.

The City of DeKalb runs non-partisan elections. It is rather transparent. Most people that will vote know which candidate is aligned with which party, they just cannot declare for a party. Why don’t we try this approach in all elections? Prevent candidates from declaring for a party while implementing true campaign finance reform. Campaign finance reform will only work if a violation of the finance law results in criminal charges being brought against the candidate, not the designated scapegoat. The criminal charges must carry a mandatory jail sentence if convicted. Implement these changes and politics will improve and a few criminals will rightfully go to jail.

I was thinking about the military rule of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” Is this really the best solution our government could come up with? It is like the “liar, liar, pants on fire.” concept from our childhood. When I became a man I put away childish things.

Doesn’t the phrase “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” really explain how the entire government and military operates. Plausible deniability and lie. That is how we govern.


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I HOPE YOU HAVE AN INTERESTING AND PRODUCTIVE DAY.



Bruce A. Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

Cornfest, Chile and cans

August 24, 2010




No opinion. Just check it out.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-dPSh--CHU



In case you had not noticed, this month has 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays and 5 Tuesdays. This can only happen in months that start on Sunday and have 31 days. The next one is May 2011 and then January 2012. It is a slow news day.



Two hundred years ago tomorrow, August 25, 1810, the can was invented. It would be a different world if we did not have the can in our lives. Many inventions have made the world a better and easier place to live. Among them are the printing press, pasteurization, vaccines, the bottle cap, the combustible engine, refrigeration and the can. Imagine life without any of these innovations and inventions. Many of the inventors that followed stood on the shoulder of giants who came before them and adapted.



My heart goes out to the miners in Chile and the Chilean people. I hope this becomes the feel-good story of the year. What an ending if a Christmas time rescue brought this story to a successful conclusion. May God bless them all?



SURPRISE! SURPRISE! Cornfest may stay at the airport site. If I recall correctly, the organizers have consistently said he move was temporary. The move was to be for two years while the downtown streets were renovated. I do not have a vested interest in Cornfest anymore. Several years ago, I maintained a law office in downtown DeKalb. Even then, Cornfest did not bring me any trade the days of the fest but people did see my signs and office. It probably helped in that way.



The City of DeKalb apparently does not have total control over the event. Technically, the organizers are on their own but they seem to speak with city authority and approval. Wouldn’t it be nice if our leaders, even those with no real authority, respected us enough not to lie to us and treat us as idiots? Everyone I talked to about Cornfest moving to the airport knew it was not coming back downtown. The next lie we hear about Cornfest moving will be the temporary move to the Convo Center, probably because of repaving of the airport runways.



The Daily Chronicle announced a new website” dedicated solely to high school sports in DeKalb County”. I wish them luck and hope they are aware Kaneland is not in DeKalb County. Check out the new website at:



daily-chronicle.com/dcpreps



It is a nice looking website. I have only read it today but I will give it a chance to find itself.



Have a great day. Just one Tuesday left in August, 2010.







CLICK THE ADS ON THE SIDES OF THE BLOG POSTS. YOU CAN FIND MOVIE TRAILERS, MUSIC AND OTHER INTERESTING AND ENTERTAINING INFORMATION





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Bruce A. Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

Police fundraiser and Sylvester Stallone and Katrina

August 23, 2010




Good morning to everyone. As Louis Armstrong would say, “What a Wonderful World”



I hope Lou Piniella is having a better day today. I wish all the best to his mother. Does it really matter how a rat leaves a sinking ship?



Cornfest is over. The weather seemed to be O. K. for the event. Fest goers liked the music lineup. I did not make it there myself but I hope a good time was had by all. Good job by the organizers and volunteers, thank you.



I read the Daily Chronicle this morning. The Police Department is having their semi-annual fundraiser arresting all the hardened criminals walking around the NIU campus area with open alcohol. What a nice way to welcome these young men and women to our city, arrest them and fine them money they can’t afford. Mom and dad will pay the fine, if it gets paid. That’s teaching those rascals.



I am sure after the police make these new friends the first weekend or two of the school year, in three weeks, when the real crime starts, the shootings, muggings, thefts and sexual assaults, the students will only be too happy to cooperate with the local police, their new friends. Perhaps we should look at the big picture once in a while. Prohibition did not work ninety years ago and it will not work in DeKalb, IL now. People do not have to be arrested for every crime they commit. This is something you are taught in Police Academy. Know which fights to fight. The students do not need the police to be their parents, at least not all of the students that were arrested. I hope the police used some discretion in their actions but, from the list in the paper, it does not appear they did.



We are approaching the five year anniversary of Katrina hitting New Orleans. I am still ashamed of our government’s response to that natural disaster. I bet we airlifted food and water to Haiti quicker than we did to our own people. We are helping the flood victims in Pakistan with better results and more compassion than we showed our neighbors in New Orleans. Where was the help from the rest of the world five years ago when we needed it, other than from Britain, I doubt we received any help from the rest of the world?



Sylvester Stallone is back on top of the movie world. The movie he stars in and directed, The Expendables, was number one at the box office for the second straight week. It is hard to keep a good man down. He has been parodied and laughed at for years, but he keeps giving the movie audience what it wants. He seems to be critic proof. A movie doesn’t have to be “art”, it just has to be entertaining and appealing to the masses. He has given me hours of enjoyment watching the Rocky and Rambo movies. Some of my readers must also enjoy him. You don’t have to be a closet Stallone fan anymore. Come out of the closet and into the light.





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Bruce A. Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

3K, The Million and other ramblings

August 22, 2010






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I am not sure what to write about today. I did partially participate in the 3K CORNFEST WALK/RUN. I and the wife did the Walk thing. We did not make the whole 3K but, it was a start. I am still recovering from a stroke I suffered in March of this year so any exercise is good for me.



Sorry nut, I was wrong on the winner of the Arlington Million. Debussey, a European horse won the race.



White Sox split doubleheader. That does not do them much good but is better than losing two.



BEARS ARE IN MID-SEASON FORM. Their great defense isn’t. Urlacher gets hurt way too often. The team should consider a different training strategy. Injuries are part of football and all sports, the Bears just seem to have more than other teams. This could seem this way to me because I follow the Bears more closely than other teams. Do you miss Kyle Orton yet?



Jay Mariotti was arrested in Los Angeles for domestic violence Saturday. I do not wish any woman or person harm, but the arrest of Mariotti couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy. Wonder who he will blame for this or who he will attack, so to speak, as a loser.



It is Sunday. The Rick Kogan radio show, The Sunday Papers, is on WGN radio at 6:30 a. m. Give it a listen. I usually watch the talking heads news shows on Sunday morning. They give me something to think about and write about. Between the three main networks, all views are covered. I do not listen to CBS. Dan Rather killed that network news department several years ago, along with his career.



Try this website out, either one will get you to the right place. It is fun and challenging. Cut and paste the address into your browser address line. If the cut and paste does not work, Google “Air Force Test” and hit the result about red square.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~pontipak/redsquare.html



www.members.iinet.net.au/~pontipak/redsquare.html









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Thank you for reading me this morning. I am always looking for ideas to write about. Post a suggestion. I read all the posts. Your comments are considered by me, never ignored unless it is meant to be a throwaway comment.



See you tomorrow.









Bruce A. Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

Roger Clemens, annexation and the world

August 21, 2010


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Today is the day I participate in my first organized 3K Run/Walk. We will see how this goes. It is virgin territory for me. After the event I was hoping to go ice skating at the De Kalb outdoor, year round ice skating rink but I don’t know where it is being stored. I am sure De Kalb has to have a storage facility just to house the expensive, stupid ides they have implemented over the years. The ice skating rink should be in the Hall of Fame of Stupid Ideas.



I will admit upfront I have no more knowledge about the Keslinger Road bridge collapse than what I read in the Daily Chronicle and hear from clients that live on Keslinger Road but, why hasn’t anything constructive been done in two years to remedy the situation. The cause of the collapse seems obvious. If it wasn’t cause by the pipeline traffic, then the bridge designer and builder should have some responsibility. The bridge was barely thirty years old. That does not seem that old in bridge years. The proper course of action is to sue the pipeline company, bridge designer and bridge builder. In these economic times, a jury will side with the county on this one. If the County does not want to sue, a private citizen can under the legal concept of “private attorney general”



The City of DeKalb should annex Sycamore. The citizens of Sycamore use DeKalb’s roads, ambulance service, police and fire service and probably even drink the water occasionally. I haven’t even mentioned those tourists breathing our air.



How can Roger Clemens be indicted for lying to Congress. Congress is an institution that requires lying to get elected to and more lying if you are elected to it. POLITICIANS LIE FOR A LIVING. IT IS A PREREQUISITE FOR BEING A POLITICIAN.



This sure does seem like entrapment. Congress got involved in an area they should not be involved in, baseball. No Federal laws were being broken that were legitimately investigated. Congress, just to get their names and faces in the papers and perhaps to associate with some of their heroes, called several big-name players before a Congressional board. They then put these players under oath and asked them embarrassing, personal questions on live television about an issue Congress had no oversight authority over. Sammy Sosa looked foolish by having his attorney read his statement. He never answered a question, therefore he never lied. Mark McGuire kept saying he was not there to talk about the past. He never lied since he never answered a question. Raphael Palmeriro pointed his finger at the Congressmen and said he never did steroids. He was banned from baseball ninety days later for steroid use. Why hasn’t he been indicted? Roger Clemens said he never did steroids or Human Growth Hormones. WHO LOOKS STUPID NOW? Congress does. They set these players up to fail. It was entrapment.











CLICK THE ADS ON THE SIDES OF THE BLOG POSTS. YOU CAN FIND MOVIE TRAILERS, MUSIC AND OTHER INTERESTING AND ENTERTAINING INFORMATION.







Bruce A. Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

The Million, the Mosque, John Wayne, Billy Joel and the Barn Owl

August 20, 2010




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CHECK OUT THE SITE BELOW. JUST CLICK IT OR, IF THAT DOESN’T WORK, CUT AND PASTE. John Wayne fans enjoy. I would like to thank one of the blog followers, Lucas, for sending me this link. He knew I was a John Wayne fan.





http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-iconic-john-wayne-role-redone.html



In case you want to make a little money this weekend, bet The Arlington Million on Saturday. Gio Ponti is trying to win the Million for the second time but he will not. Put your money to WIN on Quite a Handful. The odds will be short but in around two minutes, you can more than double your money. If you cannot make it to the track in Arlington Heights, try out The Turf Room in North Aurora, just off Randall and Orchard. It is a very nice place with a fine restaurant. Rockford also has an OTB (Off Track Betting) parlor. GOOD LUCK.



I eat a lot of melons. My new favorite is the Hami Melon, a Chinese variety of cantaloupe. You cannot beat a good Hami melon unless… it is a grape. The grape is close to the perfect food in its natural state. Someone smarter than I came up with the seedless grape. I don’t know where next year’s grape crop comes from with no seeds to plant but that is not my problem, unless we start to run out of grapes. The seedless grape is the perfect food. You can, however, improve on it. Freeze your grapes. Frozen grapes will be outlawed or taxed if the government ever discovers they exist. From the government’s viewpoint, if it is popular, regulate it, if it is very popular, tax it, if it is really, really popular, outlaw it and fine citizens if they are caught enjoying it.



A Muslim group wants to build a Mosque/community center within three blocks of Ground Zero in Manhattan, NY. They own the property and it is within zoning allowances for the area. There are currently several Mosques within blocks of the proposed new Mosque. The idea is legal. This group has the right to build this Mosque in America. Another religion could not build a church in most Muslim countries under any circumstances, especially like the circumstances surrounding Ground Zero and its history. This whole story seems to be contrived to upset Americans. It will not upset everyone but it will upset many Americans and others around the world that lost loved ones in the 911 attacks.



The concept is insensitive. The demonstrations that will take place during construction and after completion will be too numerous to keep track of. The owners will soon be complaining about their rights, whether they are citizens or not. It is like buying a house near O’Hare and then complaining about the noise. The world is full of people who bitch because they can. Most of the time the protesters should complain about their lack of brains, not complain about what everyone else is or was doing.



I think this Mosque will be plagued by construction problems, delays and cost overruns. The Government has done a lot to strip the Mafia of its power and influence in New York City. No bureaucrat will bother the Mafia during their dealings with the developers this time. The Mafia still is very powerful in the construction trades in New York and New Jersey. It will do what it can to prevent this Mosque from opening at least on time and in budget. Fires also start in buildings under construction or shortly after completion. I know the Court is in existence to protect the weak, poor and persecuted. The developers of this Mosque are none of these.



PAYBACKS ARE OFTEN ENJOYABLE AND WORTH THE TIME AND WAIT.



If this ever gets built and opens, do you think deliveries of supplies and equipment will go smoothly? I don’t. Americans have a long memory, ask Japan. There are people who still will not buy Japanese products and that still dislike Germans. Jewish people never forget a wrong against them. It is just good business. Don’t get mad, get even.



Check out the song below. It is a Billy Joel song, We Didn’t Start the Fire. I think it is pretty neat. Cut and paste the web address.



www.yeli.us/Flash/Fire.html



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CHECK OUT THE LIVE BARN OWL CAMERA FROM CALIFORNIA



http://sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Live_Owl_Nest_Box_Cam.html





Bruce A.Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

CORNFEST and Pakistan

August 19, 2010




Good Morning.



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Check out my Website every now and then. I am constantly upgrading and changing the site. The links I reference there are fun and entertaining.



For the DeKalb area reader, this weekend is CORNFEST 2010 – CHECK IT OUT. For those of you unaware of the DeKalb city festival, it is a welcome back for the students attending Northern Illinois University. It is also a way to introduce them to our downtown shopping area. Of course, a few years ago, the powers that run CORNFEST moved the festival to our airport. I have not measured the distance myself but it appears the festival area is as far away from the University as it can get and stay in the city limits. It also does no good for local retailers since it is miles from our downtown. CORNFEST is easier to get to for people from the Fox Valley area, to our east, than it is for folks living in DeKalb.



The CORNFEST run is still local in flavor, although the longer run, 10K is often won by an outsider. The 3K run is designed for families and people like me. I had a stroke 5 months ago. I cannot run 10K, but then, I couldn’t run it before the stroke. This year, with the encouragement from the fine people at Unlimited Performance, my rehabilitation provider, especially David, I am going to try the 3K run. I will walk not run.



I wonder how much money President Obama is going to give away to Pakistan later today. Once again the United States is going to bat for a country and government that does not like us and will complain when we do not give enough, quick enough. Experience tells us the government officials of Pakistan will become wealthy later today and their citizens will not be much better off.



See you in the funny papers.





Bruce A..Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

Blago and Rostenkowski

August 18, 2010




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I noticed several typos and grammatical errors in a posting recently. I am sorry. I will increase my efforts to avoid these errors on the future. I understand your time is important and when you take the time to read a post it should be worth your time. I will improve.



GOOD MORNING ROD BLAGOJEVICH AND GOOD BYE.



The Blago spin is the Government only got him on one count. They couldn’t prove the other 23 Counts. His lawyers are ranting and raving against the U. S. Attorney’s Office for concerning themselves with little old Rod while people are being killed on the streets in Chicago. It is everyone’s fault but Rod’s. Everybody did something wrong but Rod.

 Although the jury convicted him of only one Count, Blago did not beat any of the charges. On the other 23 Counts, at least one person and usually more, found against him. The verdict has to be unanimous either way, guilty or not guilty. Blago did not get any not guilty findings.



The attorneys for Blago ought to understand they are in Federal Court, defending against Federal charges. I know it all comes from us but, the money being spent to prosecute Rod is Federal money. It is not used for Chicago Police. Mayor Daily should keep the streets safe not the U. S. Attorney.



Not too long ago, a Chicago alderman mentioned the National Guard should be brought in to clean up the streets of Chicago, Daily did not want that. Very few people want that. The National Guard is a military unit. It paints with a broad brush; they don’t do windows.



Blago can claim am empty victory; his attorneys can blame everyone but themselves and their client but, in fact, yesterday Blago woke up, today Blago wakes up a convicted felon with prison in his near future. WHO DO YOU BLAME FOR THAT OTHER THAN BLAGO?



For most of us, life goes on. Yesterday Dan Rostenkowski was buried. Although he was once a convicted felon and served jail time, he was pardoned. He had a few unfortunate episodes in his long life but Chicago is better off for him having lived. I doubt I will ever say that about Blago.



Say a few Hail Mary’s and Our Fathers for our troops and your friends today.



Bruce A..Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

Purple Heart, Wizard of Oz and college

August 17, 2010




Good Morning.





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Today is the day after the day the music died. Today is also the anniversary of the birth of Davey Crocket, born August 17, 1786 and the movie, The Wizard of Oz premiered on August 17, 1939. It was the first movie to be made in black and white and in color.



Today we will talk about a National symbol, the Purple Heart. Veterans are also a part of any discussion of this subject.



Much of this information about the Purple Heart comes from an article in the November 2008 edition of National Geographic by Peter Gwin. The Purple Heart is the military medal given for being killed or wounded in combat. The medal was the result of an idea from George Washington. That was originally called the Badge of Military Merit. It was initially intended for enlisted men for exemplary service. The first three went to Sergeants in the Continental Army, although they were not called Purple Hearts.



The award fell out of use until after World War I. The military decided they did not have an award appropriate for the soldier fighting in the then modern war. The Purple Heart was put into use in its current form in 1932, the 200th anniversary of Washington’s birth.



By the end of World War II, nearly one million soldiers had earned the Purple Heart. The military, in anticipation of an attack on Japanese soil, had several hundred thousand Purple Hearts made. The supply lasted until 2000, mostly because the bloody battles in Japan never happened. The Atomic bomb ended the war.



The Purple Heart is awarded for “Being wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States or as a result of an act of any enemy or opposing armed forces.” You must be military personnel to be eligible.



The first Purple Heart was actually awarded on February 22, 1932, Washington’s birthday. The next highest award is the Bronze Star. The award just under the Purple Heart is the Meritorious Service Medal(s). All of these awards are earned by brave, patriotic Americans that deserve our prayers and our thank you.



Since many awards are handed out in the battlefield, exact numbers are not known but it is estimated 964,409 were given in World War II, 136,936 in Korea, 200,676 in Viet Nam, 2 in the Cold War, 590 in the Persian Gulf, 2,743 in Afghanistan, as of 8-21-08 and 33,923 in Iraq, as of 8-21-08. The medal is awarded in the name of the President of the United States from a grateful Nation.



If an individual earns a Purple Heart and is wounded again, any subsequent injury that would earn a Purple Heart is signified by the awarding of an oak leaf cluster.

A movement is underway trying to get the Purple Heart awarded for post traumatic syndrome and similar disorders but it has met with resistance, as I think it should. Create another award but do not dilute the Purple Heart.



During the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, on average, 14 Purple Hearts are earned every day



Tomorrow we just might discuss the attempt to build a Mosque near Ground Zero in Manhattan, NY.



Thank you and have a sunny day. I am off to college to drop off my daughter.



Bruce A. Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

BLOG: bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

Back to School. Elvis, you left too young.

August 16, 2010



Hello again. How are you doing? May be what is below will make your day or ruin it, we will see. I bet it will help more than hurt.



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ELVIS died August 16, 1977, 33 years ago today. Where were you? By the end of that day, many of us, especially those of us alive, were at the end of Lonely Street at Heartbreak Hotel. I know I was All Shook Up the day Elvis was Returned to Sender. Elvis was in his early forties when he died.



My youngest child is my only daughter. She was born in 1990. She knows who Elvis is and has heard much of his material because of her time around me. Tomorrow will be a bittersweet day for me and my wife. For the second year in a row, I will be taking my daughter to college. She starts her second year, studying journalism, with a goal of going to law school. She is a brilliant, well-rounded young lady who will do whatever she wants to. Failure is never in her mind.



Last year was a little tough driving away from the dorm without her. A few tears were shed by me and her mother. This year, mom can’t make the trip to drop her off. I guess I will have to cry for two. This year should be a little easier. Not everything is new to her or me. I honestly think my daughter took last year better than her parents did.



We did the drop off thing with the son now in law school but, he was going to a school forty miles away not 175 miles away. He now goes to law school out of state but he has been gone for six years. Except for the summertime when my daughter comes back, I and the wife are empty nesters. I like that.



She is still a little upset with one of her older brothers. She has always wanted to go to law school; to be like her dad. My middle child made a decision late in his college career to go to law school. He starts his final year in law school in two weeks. He is going to beat my daughter to law school graduation. She will make him pay some day.



My oldest child is making the long money as an architectural draftsman. His younger siblings have a way to go to catch him. All in all, they are three great kids.



That is enough about me. Next time, back to every ones world, not just mine.







Bruce A. Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

BLOG:bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

Arlington National Cemetery, the Bears and the Library Board

August 15, 2010




Good Morning.





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Today we will talk about two National symbols. One is the National Military Cemetery and the other is the Purple Heart. Veterans are also a part of any discussion of these two subjects.



Yesterday, August 14, 2010 was the sixty-fifth anniversary of J-J Day, Victory over Japan. Alfred Eisenstaedt, a photojournalist took a picture in Times Square, New York City of a sailor kissing a nurse. Everyone has seen this famous photo. The two participants did not know each other and never did. Lt. Victor Jorgensen took a photo of the same kiss but, his was never famous for it. Thank you to all veterans and to the greatest generation that fought World War II.



Veterans have a place to be buried that they all have earned. Arlington National Cemetery is in Arlington County, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington D. C. and the Lincoln Memorial. It is near the Pentagon. The Military Cemetery was built and opened during the Civil War. It is located on the grounds of Arlington House, which was the family estate of the wife of General Robert E. Lee, the Confederate General that led the South in the War of Northern Aggression. Lee’s wife, Mary Anna Custis Lee was a great grand-daughter of Martha Washington, our first President’s wife. Robert E. Lee lived on the property but he never owned it



George Washington is often called the father of our country but, in reality, he was sterile. He and Martha had no children themselves, although Martha had children from an earlier marriage. She was the Wealthiest widow in the colonies when George married her.



It is believed Abraham Lincoln chose Arlington House as the site for the cemetery to upset General Lee. It likely did do that. He had no home to come back to after the Civil War. The government actually acquired the property in a tax sale in 1864. It paid $26,800.00. The taxes owed on the property were $92.07 that Mrs. Lee tried to pay before the sale, in time to stop the sale but, the government refused to accept the money. Court cases involving ownership of Arlington House lasted for nearly twenty years. The U. S. Supreme Court actually sided with the Custis family and said the property was seized without due process. It ordered the estate returned to the Custis family in 1882. The next year, the parties settled and the government paid the family $150,000.00 for the cemetery site. A ceremony was held for the document signing that was attended by the Secretary of War, Robert Todd Lincoln, Abe’s son.



Two Presidents, William Howard Taft and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, are buried at the 624 acres cemetery as is Abner Doubleday, a Civil War general who later invented baseball, or is credited with so doing. Audie Murphy, considered to be the most decorated soldier from World War II and a Hollywood actor is buried at Arlington.



The cemetery is divided into 70 sections; each section has a designated use. Section 60 is the burial ground for soldiers killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Section 21is the Nurses Memorial, where many military nurses are buried. There is a section for soldiers from the Confederate States of America which also has a Confederate Memorial in the section. Section 27contains the graves of over 3,800 former slaves. They were called “Contrabands” during the Civil War.



Headstones on the graves are quite similar in appearance. The upright marble headstones are allowed to have faith emblems on them, if approved by the Unites States Department of Veterans Affairs. Currently 39 faith emblems are approved for placement on government Headstones or Markers. The pentacle is not an approved “emblem of belief”



Hundreds of funerals take place at Arlington National Cemetery every day. Someday, however, the site will be full.



The history of this hallowed ground is very interesting. More can be found at www.arlingtoncemetery.org or at Wikipedia, a fine source to start any research project.



The Bears looked as bad as I expected last night. Am I the only one who knows Forte is not NFL quality?



Revisiting a blog from a few days ago, apparently our State’s Attorney, John Farrell, does not want the bleeding at the Library Board to stop. He is preparing a civil lawsuit against the Board or its members. Stay tuned.



I mentioned the Purple Heart above but I have run out of time and space. I will save that blog for another day. Sorry.



Thank you and have a sunny day.



Bruce A. Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

brucebrennanlaw.com

BLOG: bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

August 14, 2010

Below is an excerpt from a short story I have written. The entire short story is paet of a book of mine, A COMPILATION OF SHORT STORIES. I hpoe you enjoy this sample. The book will be available in November of his year.

Tomorrow I will get back into the news and current events. I have some interesting facts about Purple Hearts and Arlington National Cemetary to share. 



September 11, 2011 - FOREVER


                     BY

Bruce A. Brennan


Bruce A. Brennan
112 Orchard Lane
DeKalb, IL 60115
Copyright 2010
(815) 375-6595
Email:brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
brucebrennanlaw.com



"We all know what happened on September 11, 2001. It has become known as 911. This cowardly act of terrorism was enormously successful. I truly believe that Osama bin Laden was the most surprised individual in the world when the Twin Towers collapsed. There is no way bin Laden, an intelligent man, but not brilliant could have done the necessary investigation and planning to come up with a plan designed to cause the buildings to collapse. From the hell hole he calls a home; he planned to cause damage to the buildings. He planned to kill hundreds of innocent people, civilians, not soldiers but, he did not create a plan designed to collapse the Twin Towers. Remember, he is supposedly a wealthy man, although most experts believe he has spent his personal fortune, who is so smart he lives in a cave in the most isolated and hostile terrain in the world.



The government, who are the smartest people on the planet, if you believe them, claim we are winning the  war on terror. They are constantly stating we have not had a terrorist attack since we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. This is not just wrong, it is a lie. There have been attacks around the globe targeting Americans; like Bali hotels and nightspots, Madrid subway, London subway, several attacks by military Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan killing American soldiers, the attack by a Muslim military doctor at a Texas military base, the shoe bomber and the Christmas day bomber in Detroit, to name a few. This listing is not complete. I would hate to see how we would be doing if we were loosing this fight.



The military lost the war in Viet Nam because too many civilians, such as politicians and protesters, were allowed too much input. The military listened to them and were afraid to win the war. Unfortunately, this lesson was not learned in Viet Nam. Now, over forty years later, we are still allowing politicians to dictate military policy. The Armed Forces will not or are incapable of managing a war to a successful conclusion.



Recently, a General in charge in Afghanistan stated he had been to Afghanistan nineteen times since the war began. I believe General Patton and General Eisenhower, to name two military leaders from the World War II era, lived overseas until the conclusion of the war. They saw firsthand what the fighting soldier saw every day. They did not spend much time in Washington D. C. being wined, dined and influenced by defense contractors and politicians.



The Department of Defense was not in the Pentagon at the breakout of World War II. Groundbreaking for the Pentagon took place on September 11, 1941. The attackers in 2001 knew 911 was our emergency nationwide phone number. They also knew when ground was broken for the Pentagon. These two reasons were enough for them to choose the date they did for their attack. What better day to attack the world’s largest office building that houses the headquarters for the world’s largest and most powerful military than on the anniversary of the day its construction commenced.



From now on, Americans know our military headquarters can be attacked by people with box-cutters and kill 189 people. Every time an American makes a phone call to the emergency phone system, they will be reminded of 911.



The Pentagon was dedicated on January 15, 1943. The construction was beset by numerous building setbacks and delays but, it is a government project. Now, our military leaders sit in heated and air conditioned offices, while the troops they allegedly lead live in tents and battle the elements.



I know a few of our military leaders do live with or near the troops they lead into battle but, they are not in the same situation. They are the field commanders but, no one listens to them or takes them too seriously. Also, the leaders are often called to other places or back to the Pentagon for meetings or to testify before a Congressional hearing. Rarely do the meetings they attend occur in Antarctica or in sub-Saharan Africa.



The government leaders, military and non-military, cannot possibly get a clear and complete picture of a war happening on the other side of the world. We claim to have unbelievable technology available to our leaders. I am honestly convinced Hollywood and fiction writers have better technology than the Armed Forces do. The technology works better in Hollywood; we just do not fight too many wars there.



The first Gulf War attempted a new strategy. They destroyed the infra-structure of Iraq. This was accomplished with massive bombings and use of smart bombs. The cost was unfathomable. Unfortunately, the bombs are smarter than the people using them. We essentially bombed Iraq back to the Stone Age. In this instance, that was only a few years. When we started that war in 1991, Iraq had working water systems, working sewage systems and a working power grid structure.



The U. S. beat the hell out of this country, like we should have. It was not much more formidable than Granada ten years earlier. We then left the country to fend for itself with the same morons in control. A little more than ten years later we were back for round two. The country was not rebuilt by the Iraqi powers. Still to this day, as are Armed Forces once again fight in this backwards country, the countries capital only has electricity for three hours a day. Sadam Hussein had a more workable infra-structure before we attacked twenty years ago than exists there today. Who won this war? Who is winning this war? I do not think the answer to either question is the United States of America.



The strategy of bombing an opponent out of existence did not work and still is not working. We keep trying to use bombs in Afghanistan and I am sure some people are being killed, like our service personnel and civilians but, not the enemy. You cannot bomb stone back to the Stone Age.



We bomb at the insistence of the bomb manufacturers and the defense contractors. The bomb manufacturers have an obvious vested interest. Use a bomb and you must replace it, usually with a more expensive version. The defense contractors want us to bomb the infra-structure so they will have to rebuild it. It is cheaper and easier to build in Afghanistan or Iraq. There are no unions to fight with; no OSHA to kowtow to, very little government interference and the wages are much less. Collection of invoices is also easier even with the bad economy. Checks from the United States Government do not bounce. When an invoice is questioned, the billing has such a markup; it can be adjusted with little impact on company profits."


Thank you for tour time. Have a wonderful weekend. See you tomorrow.

Tell someone you love them today. Love them always, just tell them today.

Bruce A. Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
brucebrennanlaw.com

Troops and more

8-13-10

Happy Friday the thirteenth. I hope nothing unworldly happens to you today, like the meteor shower we have been experiencing of an evening.It is tremendous to look at and wonder, just do not do it from the 13th floor or from room 13 in a hotel, if you can find one.

Some of the National news has been the White House touting the draw down of troops from Iraq going on now. The Administration keeps talking about all "combat troops" leaving by the end of the month. That will leave "only" 50,000 troops there. I hope we leave them a rifle or two to share. They just might need one.

I always thought everybody in our military is trained for hostilities. I am sure they are taught about weapons and the safe use of same during their military service. I DID NOT KNOW WE HAD NON-COMBAT TROOPS IN THE MILITARY SERVICE. Sure, somebody has to clean the windows and cook and service our vehicles but, unless these jobs are outsourced from defense contractors, our trained military service members are doing this work in a combat zone. I bet they are getting combat pay while in Iraq. Without the other troops present, why do the 50,000 support troops need to be there. Who are they supporting?

If we have not been able to train the Iraq troops to protect their own country in seven years, how are the non-combat troops going to do it, with a bottle of Windex and some Valvoline.

Everyone in the military is a "COMBAT TROOP". I don't care what the White House says or how they spin it. 

Have a fine weekend. Stay cool, think how those non-combat troops are feeling in Iraq. They have been abandoned in the heat by their own government.


Bruce A. Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
brucebrennanlaw.com

The library, the Courthouse, the economy and whatever.

8-12-10

I just read the Daily Chronicle. A first page story concerns the library purchase of an old medical building in downtown DeKalb. The Library Board originally approved the purchase of the building, which it will tear down, during a closed session in May. The May vote allegedly violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act. This violation was confirmed by the attorney for the Board, although he suggested it was an inadvertent violation. The May vote was investigated by the DeKalb County State's Attorney. I do not think anyone thought a criminal action occurred involving jail time. Later, the attorney for the Board reversed his position and indicated a violation never occurred. The Board wanted it both ways and the abandoned medical building. The seller just wanted to unload the building. They did nothing wrong.

The Library Board has now ratified its earier vote. This means they got a do over. The Board attorney now wants this to go away. He is pulling a Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?" My response is "Can't we get competent people involved from the beginning to avoid this appearance of incompetence?"

Ultimately, the propety will likely be purchased, allegedly unforeseen problems will be uncovered, the cost will rise dramatically and the new library building will be built. Everyone will be happy but the taxpayer.

Page A-3 of the same Daily Chronicle has a story about the Courthouse revisions. I am an attorney. I work in the Courthouse regularly. Additional space is needed. The story talks about budget problems and over-runs. It also touches on needed amenities not covered by the proposed budget, like increased security to handle the increased use of the bigger building. Since this increased cost is not taken into account in the proposed budget, the cost will be more than projected now. The spin will be this is not a cost over-run since the original budget did not include any cost although we knew there was a cost.

Another story on page A-6, from The Associated Press out of Washington D. C., states in the headline ECONOMY might be weaker than thought.  Who knew this? Thanks for the head's up. Enough said.

The White Sox are back in first place!

The PGA Championship is being played near Sheboygan, WI. It is a short drive and a good time. Check it out.

The Little League World Series is gearing up on ESPN. It is fun to watch. GO USA.

Have a great day- Stay cool.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN
brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
brucebrennanlaw.com

Gooey Teen-Age death songs and other fun things

8-11-10

One of the best websites I have found recently is Grooveshark.com. I have discovered it works best if running off Firefox or Internet Explorer.

It has thousands of songs to download for free. You can make a Playlist or two, thereby creating your own jukebox. Create a fifties and sixties Playlist and have a sock hop at home. Nothing says lovin like a little Ricky Nelson, Beach Boys, the Monkees, Herman's Hermits and Isely Brothers.

Do not forget to make a teen-age death song Playlist. Include Last Kiss by J. Frank Wilson & the Cavaliers, Leader of the Pack, by the Shangri-Las, Dead Man's Curve by Jan & Dean, Honey by Bobby Goldsboro, always a show stopper and Teen Angel by Mark Dinning

Once the sock hop is in full swing and the slow songs are coming quicker and quicker, play another parlor game, with betting. Have your guests guess how many people in the United States have the same name as theirs. Decide on parameters and place bets for who guesses right. You can find the answers at http://www.howmanyofme.com/. You can find this web address and other fun sites at my website, http://www.brucebrennanlaw.com/.

How about them DeKalb County Liners. They had a fine season for their first year in existence. GOOD LUCK IN THE FUTURE.

Bruce A. Brennan
(815) 375-6595
brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
brucebrennanlaw.com

What am I and this blog about?

8-11-10

My name is Bruce A. Brennan, I am a 55 year old father of three grown children who lives in DeKalb, IL with my wife of 34 years. I am an Attorney and an author. Visit my Website at: brucebrennanlaw.com or Email me at: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com. I can also be contacted through this blog.

During the next several weeks and months, it will become clear which side of the political table I sit at. I have opinions about most things, some to the right, a few to the left and some in your face. You will get used to it. I will strive for accuracy in everything I post but, mistakes do happen. If I make a mistake, it will not be on purpose. If called for, I will apologize but, that will be rare, hopefully.

Any statements or comments I make will be the truth, to the best of my knowledge, unless the statements or comments are so outlandish that I never expected the reader to believe them. This will become obvious as you read more of my writings.

The blog will cover DeKalb, IL, DeKalb County, IL, the State of Illinois, National politics and affairs, International affairs, current events, sports and anything else I feel is worthy of my time and yours. Suggestions are encouraged.

Although this blog will not be entirely G-Rated material, gratuitous swearing is discouraged and will not be tolerated. Pornagraphy and graphic sexual material is not wanted. Go semewhere else for that, there are plenty of those types of sites to choose from.

Sometimes sexual conduct is a big part of the story and cannot be ignored but it will not be exploited. Thanks Tiger, Bill Clintoin, John Edwards, Jesse James, Al Gore and Senator Craig from Idaho, the guy in the airport bathroom in Minnesota, for sex becoming a National pasttime when the wife is not around.

I am not trying to write a comedy blog. Sometimes, however, the humor is so obvious it cannot be ignored.

I hope we can get to know each other over the coming months. I will start.

Levi Johnston should shut-up and go away.

The Bears will not win nine games.

The Blackhawks have the best looking jerseys/sweaters in professional sports and they will win the Stanley Cup again. Thank you Blackhawks.

The Cubs just suck and always will.

The White Sox looked bad until Memorial Day, it has been fun since then.

Who cares about the Bulls.

Blago, suicide is an option.

Any comments?


Bruce A. Brennan
brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
brucebrennanlaw.com

DeKalb, IL and the circus

Let the circus be. The elephants are better off with the circus than being slaughtered for their tusks. The world is not perfect. Protesters in DeKalb, IL are not going to make a difference in the animal kingdom. Pick a fight you can win.


Bruce A. Brennan