Author: Jim Bowman

Jim Bowman covered religion 1968-78 for the Chicago Daily News, since then has written books, articles, etc., mostly on corporate history but also on religion (Company Man: My Jesuit Life, 1950-1968), and more recently on politics (Illinois Blues: How the Ruling Party Talks to Voters -- Lulu.com, Kindle). Longtime Oak Park, Illinois, resident, he lives now on Chicago's North Side, where four of his and Winnie's six children live close by.

FBI agents know from nothing about Sharia?

Which explains their cutting off investigation of Mateen after two interrogations?

Former FBI Agent John Guandolo said the FBI mistakenly closed its investigation because it had no idea how to respond to jihadist threats because the bureau does not teach agents about Islamist doctrine, such as Sharia law, that is used as a guide for terrorist operations and activities.
“This investigation was closed because FBI leadership has systematically refused to look at and teach Sharia to its agents because it is getting its advice on Islam from Muslims who are hostile to us and our system of government,” Guandolo said.

Serious charge, reflecting Obama’s see-no-evil approach to never-named Islamic terrorism.  

As in this:

In the hours after the rampage, President Barack Obama claimed that Mateen’s motives are “unclear,” even though he admitted that the carnage was an “act of terror.”

He moved to blame the national debate on the Second Amendment and possession of firearms by citizens, however, saying “we have to decide if this [an American with guns] is the kind of country we want to be.”

If agents ignore Islamic motivations, they miss a lot. There’s a refusal to connect dots here?

Trump and Justice Sotomayor on same page, you know

Before blogs there were letters to the editor. Some very good ones at Wall St. Journal today, such as this one:

Trump, the ‘Mexican’ Judge and Wise Latinas
Why is it so offensive when Donald Trump equates ethnicity with judicial bias but it’s fine when Sonia Sotomayor does?

Why indeed? Follow-through:

In a speech given at the UC Berkeley School of Law (Oct. 26, 2001) on the effect of gender and ethnicity on judging, the future Supreme Court justice spoke about the influence her Latina identity had on her presence on the bench.

Her remarks were far more diplomatic than Mr. Trump’s, but she reached virtually the same conclusion.

Some examples from the speech: “Our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging.” . . . “Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see.” . . . “But I accept there will be some [difference] based on my gender and my Latina heritage.”

Finally, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

So do not oppose Trump to at least one Obama appointee, at least not on this point.

 

 

 

 

Tax trades, and say bye-bye to the Merc

Argument is simple enough: you would make trades unprofitable.

A proposal for Illinois to tax trades on exchanges in the state is “ridiculous,” according to the executive chairman of Chicago-based market operator CME Group Inc.

The suggested levy—which would charge $1 or $2 per contract, depending on the product—would make many transactions uneconomic, forcing the exchange to leave the state because customers would stop buying and selling, CME Chairman Terry Duffy said.

The bill, designed to increase revenue in the financially troubled state, is in early stages and faces long odds of approval.

Yes, as Sen. Don Harmon told an Oak Park audience in 2013, in this exchange from my Illinois Blues: How the Ruling Party Talks to Voters.

. . . from the floor came an enterprising suggestion, that even with Harmon’s proposed fair tax (“graduated”) there still wouldn’t be enough money. “So how about the proposed tax on stock trades?” (A “sales tax on speculators,” a columnist called it.)

[Rep. Camille Lilly] laughed. “Actually, I saw that proposal, among so many that I didn’t read.”

Harmon said he had heard testimony for this tax, naming a local socialist who was also an energetic proponent of a mandated “living wage” for village employees. But he gently poured cold water on the idea, Lilly next to him nodding vigorous agreement.

“There’s the fear that this legislation would push the Chicago Mercantile Exchange out of the state,” Harmon explained. It was a rare nod to the role of taxation in damaging the economy.

Illinois Blues is available also as paperback and non-Kindle ebook.

For the rest of the CME story: Newsalert: CME Boss says he would have no choice but to move CME if Illinois tax passes