Chicago mayor Richie Daley has never distinguished his administration with common sense. In stark proof of this, he has cheerfully invited “a million people” to attend the forthcoming election night Obama rally at the city’s Grant Park.

Hmmm…let’s look at that. I don’t recall any Presidential candidate receiving as much homicidal hostility during a campaign as Barack Obama. We are told that at least two assassination plots by white skinheads have been interdicted. Someone now invites a million people to come to the “range” and face the “target.”

Take Mayor Daley’s “invitation list” of 1,000,000 un-vetted people…In a city rife with gang culture and presently the “murder capitol” of the nation, despite Draconian gun laws that actually ban ownership of handguns (except by Chicago city council members, who are expressly allowed to carry loaded, concealed pistols). Compare that with the rule of thumb we’ve heard from so many mental health professionals that “one out of every hundred people is a psychopath.” One out of every hundred … a million people there … carry the one …

Yup, the math is right. That’s 10,000 psychopaths. In an area far too huge for screening and metal detectors to be effective. “Ten Thousand Maniacs” was a cool name for an ‘80s rock band, but it’s a most un-cool scenario for a political rally of unprecedented size at the peak pressure curve of a volatile election.

Chicagoland is not without white racists. I was there in the satellite community of Skokie three decades ago, when the American Nazis marched, mocking the substantial local community of Holocaust survivors. The cops were out in force, the racists were few in number, and it still looked pretty dangerous for a while, though the forces of order kept everything contained.

In addition to the white racists, there are those in the African-American community who have no love for Obama, and may even feel a vested interest in “creating an incident.” Chicago is the home of Jesse Jackson, who infamously said during the campaign that he would like to castrate Obama. We are also at war with an entity called Al Qaeda,, which has already murdered Americans…is familiar with American media…and has to have heard Rush Limbaugh’s prediction of a surprise McCain victory and writer-commentator Erica Jong’s recent prediction to an Italian magazine that if Obama loses, the streets will run red with blood and a “second American Civil War” will erupt. It would take only one suicidal terrorist pawn to throw a bomb or bullet at Obama in hopes of triggering just such chaos in the USA.

Chicago, our nation’s third most popular city, has the second largest police force. They’re authorized some 13,000 armed, sworn police personnel, though I think the current rolls are somewhat down from that. (LAPD, serving the second largest US city, has just under 10,000 officers, and NYPD is the largest with some 36,000 authorized.) That ain’t enough to control a million people if things flare up. I hear from usually reliable sources that Chicago PD has done something unprecedented: they’ve put out a call to surrounding departments and the State Police for assistance, supposedly requesting two-man patrol cars.

A part of America sees Barack Obama as the Martin Luther King of our time. We remember the fierce rioting (we call it “civil unrest” now) that broke out after King’s assassination forty years ago. What is going to happen if a shot rings out in Grant Park…?

If I was a Secret Service agent assigned to the Obama protection detail, I’d be waking up screaming in the middle of the night.

Paul Huebl, a retired Chicago cop who now writes a conservative blog, has noted that Grant Park is largely surrounded by bodies of water, and that on a cold night water cannons make very effective riot control devices. Many of the bridges in Chicago are drawbridges that, if lifted, would greatly limit auto/pedestrian access from Grant Park to other parts of the city. But that would only mitigate the aftermath, not prevent it.

This rally may not go down in history as the smartest move Mayor Daley has ever made or approved. However, those who’ve followed his administration will probably ask, “And this is different…how?”

1 COMMENT

  1. Great minds think alike!

    “Ten Thousand Maniacs” for sure but there will be many others with bricks, knives and gasoline.

    Your site is now on the sidebar of mine. You rock Mas!

  2. When Barack Obama arrived on the scene,he was championed as the ultimate peacemaker to help unite all races to live blissfull harmony for all time.Well,I don’t see any evidence of that as of yet.In fact,I see the opposite happening,with Obama igniting a firestorm of racial divide & more polariaztion & racism than I’ve seen since I don’t know when.Simply having a President of mixed racial heritage as Obama is doesn’t magically transform him into some type of cultural & racial healer.
    I live in a small town in Southern Illinois which to this day is largely “segregated”into a White Northside & Black Southside.I remember as a kid in the 70’s,it was conventional wisdom that it wasn’t a good idea to drive in “Southtown”if you happen to be White & vice versa.My Mother & I along with a girlfriend of hers whose Husband worked with my Dad & her young Son found that out the hard way one night as we were going to take my Father & this Womans Husband some dinner at their place of work. A group of young Black Males approached our car at a stop sign and started pelting our car with rocks & bottles simply because of our race.One of the windows was down & the young boy sitting beside me was struck in his eye with a rock and we had to rush him to the hospital.If memory serves correctly,he lost his sight in that eye.
    I’m seeing that type of hatred building up again in both the White & Black communities.One example of that happened the other night as I took my Family out to dinner followed by a drive around the Park when some African Americans males blocked our path & yelled racial insults at us.Luckily there was a side road close enough that I was able to make a hasty exit.This especially concerns me now that I have a Family of my own with a small Child I’m responsible to take care of & keep safe.Along with the growing racial devide is the possibility of a President Obama that doesn’t believe people have the right to protect themselves or their family.
    As I stated before,it’s not one sided.I’ve heard some pretty harsh words coming from White members of the Community.The local Police Department Officers I’ve spoken to say they are going to be on high alert come election night & have already had to bump of patrols to deal with racial clashes & violence.
    Mas,I hope your wrong on your analysis of this election rally & the events that follow,but I sadly believe you are probably right.Prepare for the worst & pray for the best.

  3. Hmmm. I seem to remember a wise man once told me “Know where the attack is coming and have the defense in place.” Actually he told me that about a thousand times, at last count.

    My prediction is there will be riots no matter who wins. Look at what happens in any big city after a World Series win. If Obama wins it will start out as a celebration and quickly devolve to rocks, overturned vehicles and looting. If he loses it simply means the celebration is skipped and the “disenfranchised” go straight to stage two.

    My personal defense is distance. I won’t get within 20 miles of our city center on Tuesday. We’re most likely going close early on Tuesday one office that is close to that city center. We’ll go home and watch the news and see how it goes.

    I hope and pray I’m wrong but where I live there are a lot of very intelligent people who share my thoughts on this.

    As always thanks Mass for getting solid information out.

  4. Chicago is an island of costal politics, with all it’s blind spots. I believe Daley is convinced Barry O will win. And since the rallys haven’t presented an insurmountable crowd control problem so far, I don’t think they will Tuesday-IF HE WINS.

    Who knows what will happen if he loses, but I’d assume at least minor problems.

    I doubt if any Islamofacists want him dead. They’ll want to cause him to lose face, just like most of the presidents after Ford. The current Bush is the only one who never backed down. Meanwhile, Obama seems ready to, before any violence.

  5. Now that the election is over and mercifly the political TV ads come to an end as well. I am trying to contact as many fellow patriots as possible to respectfully display the US Flag persuant to US Code Title 36, Chapter 10, SS 176 (a), with the union (blue field) down signifying a time of national peril or distress. I will continue this respectful display of my 1st Amendment Rights untill BHO is removed from office by whatever means.