Bad Numbers

This isn't good:

• The unemployment rate in the Chicago metropolitan area continued to surge in June, reaching 11.3 percent, up from 6.9 percent a year earlier and the highest level since July of 1983, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday.

  The rate is up from 10.7 percent in May and from 9.9 percent in April. It exceeds the state’s 10.3 percent rate and the nation’s 9.5 percent rate.

And not a small portion of it is directly attributable to Quinn's proposed tax hikes, Stroger's tax hikes and Daley's tax hikes, head taxes, and assorted fees and licensing that kills the entrepreneurial spirit.

So This is Perfection

Nicely played:

• CHICAGO -- How does he do it?

  That's the company line, the inside joke, the way we deal with a normal dude like Mark Buehrle doing abnormal things like throwing a perfect game, winning a World Series, and marrying the pretty girl he proposed to in a deer stand.

  How does Mark Buehrle do it?

  Look at him. He's a monster-truck-driving, deer-hunting, self-proclaimed country boy who strains to hit 90 on the radar gun and was picked in the 38th round of the 1998 amateur baseball draft.

Sounds like a fun guy. Congrats.

Veron no Brasil

Made in Atletico Mineiro, Verón al micrófono y Diego en batería cantan la alegría pincharrata mientras Kleber y Adilson Batista (DT Cruzeiro) lloran la derrota.

Diego Alonso bajo la lupa

Terminado el Clausura 09, los festejos y las promociones, Pedro Molina puso la lupa sobre el último y mas recordado de los partidos, en el que Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata logró su milagrosa permanencia en Primera ganandole a Rafaela 3-0. (13.07.09). La víctima: Diego Alonso.

[Pedro Molina]
Uno de los hombres clave en la remontada de la promoción en Gimnasia fue Diego Alonso, que con su gol y optimismo fue siempre para adelante. Cuando las papas quemaban fue titular por el Pampa Sosa y estuvo a la altura de las circunstancias. Desde adentro supo imponer su mentalidad ganadora y liderazgo para mantener a su querido GELP en Primera. Es interesante ver sus movimientos en los goles como nueve de área.

Previo al 1-0: Llega un pelotazo cruzado buscando a Sosa que iba por la punta. Alonso va a terminar marcando el gol aunque tarda en entrar al área.
El gol (1-0): Cuando el pase de Sosa sale para el medio, Alonso esta exactamente en el punto penal. El centro fue cerrado pero gracias al rebote de Capogrosso (en la imagen ya lo dio), llegó a empujarla de frente con el arco semi vacío.

Previo al 2-0: Llega el centro desde la izquierda de Aued y Niell va a conectar justo de cabeza. La imagen es poco clara, pero la pelota está en el aire (ver al arquero) y Alonso está en el punto del penal. Acá sí esta ubicado como nueve de área, aunque no participa.

Previo al 3-0: Nuevamente hay un centro desde la izquierda (apenas está saliendo) y la defensa de la Crema está bastante metida, por lo tanto, Alonso también. Es el más adelantado de los delanteros.
El gol (3-0): Niell ya cabeceó y la pelota está yendo hacia el arco. De Cuevas sólo se ve la cabeza debajo de la foto. Alonso ahora está un poco más atrás porque la defensa de Rafaela se metió en su arco y él no. Estaba bien ubicado… para abrazar primero a Niell.

Se habla mucho de los delanteros de área que tienen que estar bien ubicados. Yo redoblo la apuesta: ¿qué es estar bien ubicado? En este caso, el nueve está bien ubicado en el primer gol donde lo hizo o en los restantes que está dentro del área pero no le llegó la pelota.

RELACIONADOS:
GELP ES DE PRIMERA
LOS GOLES DEL MILAGRO

Out at 55 a Reality

According to the FOP site and numerous media outlets:

• The city of Chicago and the Fraternal Order of Police have agreed on a change that will allow officers to retire five years earlier with full medical benefits--providing millions of dollars in savings to the city during the current budget crisis, officials said.
  
  Beginning in November, officers can retire at age 55, compared to the current 60, and still get premium-free health care benefits until they qualify for Medicare. Families are also included.The change is expected to result in a several hundred officers leaving over the next couple of years, in addition to those already planning to retire. It also comes at a time when hiring has slowed during the city's general budget woes.
  
  The department is also expecting federal grant money to allow for hiring in the coming months.

That last line intrigues us. There are something like 46 recruits in the Academy. There were supposed to be 200 this year. Even if the federal money appeared out of thin air tomorrow with no strings attached, there's no one in the pipeline. The last entrance test was given 3 years ago. We haven't even heard of a test being planned. The last POWER test was given over 6 months ago, so the results probably aren't any good any more.

Now with "55 for coverage" being a reality, we can realistically expect 250 to 300 additional retirements around the end of the year. A bunch of the old timers are going to bid their furloughs and leave. A good win for the FOP, but if you think we were shorthanded already, buckle in for 2010. That's not being pessimistic - that's dealing with the reality of the hiring process. We are actually hoping for this to be the trigger for re-districting

Obama Hates on the Police

He really really dislikes the police - but we knew that from his time here in Illinois:

• President Barack Obama said Wednesday that police acted "stupidly" in the arrest of prominent black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. and that despite racial progress blacks and Hispanics are still singled out unfairly for arrest.
  
  "This still haunts us," Obama said.
  
  Obama called Gates a friend, and said he doesn't know all the facts of the case. Nonetheless, Obama said, anyone would have been angry if treated the way Gates claims police in Cambridge, Mass., treated him. Gates, a Harvard University professor, claims he was arrested in his home after showing ID to police who responded to a report of a possible burglary.

So Obama admits he doesn't know the facts of the case, yet still calls the police stupid. Police were responding to a call of a break in. Gates forgot his keys, so he jimmied his own door. Police responded and according the story, verified that Gates was in fact the homeowner.

Then it gets into "he said, he said."

• The police sergeant accused of racism after he arrested Gates insisted Wednesday that he won't apologize.
  
  Police say Gates at first refused to display ID and then accused the officer of racism.
  
  Sgt. James Crowley said he followed proper procedures in arresting Gates.

Frankly, knowing what we know about professors, we believe the Sergeant.

Knowing what we know about Harvard University professors, we believe the Sergeant should be considered for promotion to Lieutenant.

Finally, knowing what we know about the propensity for overly liberal gasbags who "work" as Harvard University professors to scream "racism!" whenever someone says, "Please pass the bottle of White-out," we think the Sergeant should be a candidate for Chief.

We'll just note that the Obama-sponsored Traffic Stop Statistical Study (TSSS) here in Illinois that was supposed to prove institutional racism on the part of police departments across the state, proved only that police officers stopped lawbreakers regardless of race and that not a single instance of racial profiling was ever noted in the study. So Obama's entire experience of police work was a preconceived notion that was roundly disproved at the cost of millions of dollars. And he thinks he can comment on an arrest in Cambridge he admits knowing nothing about?

We guess he may have just lost the law enforcement vote. Aside from him blowing off the Police Memorial for a sports team that is.

Academy Break-In?

Remember the minor outcry here after it was discovered that the Academy would be hosting a number of younger lawbreakers during off hours? We're looking for confirmation on this one:

• Next week the hood rats will be at the Academy to "register" for their classes. There will be a "Security company" contracted by the city to provide one on one guidance to the little darlings. The company is called: http://www.eesforjobs.com/index.html
  
  Funny that a private company, that gets government funding, uses public buildings for its offices. Wonder what the rent is? Wonder who is connected to this company? Wonder who the "security guards" will be?
  
  You can be sure of one thing, they won't be off duty police officers or anyone of such high caliber.
  
  
• On a second note: The Academy Range had an attempted break in over the weekend! Someone tried to pry open the lock. That's okay folks, not to worry folks, we'll just bring in some fake security officers along with 50 youth felons for some bs training because the little prick mayor wants it.

What could possibly happen?