Women Never Shoot Themselves In The Head!

"In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first: an attempted suicide." Those were the last words of TV anchor/reporter Christine Chubbuck before she raised a .38 snub-nosed revolver to her head and shot herself live on television. This happened one July morning at WXLT-TV in Sarasota, FL in 1974.

Chubbic placed the gun behind her right ear in a very unusual position. Had there not been videotape my guess is cops may well have made someone a murder suspect.

I love hearing so-called reporters saying women never take their own lives that way, while commenting about the Lana Clarkson death and the Phil Spector murder trial.

I have seen many photos of women who killed themselves in this fashion. Women often leap to their deaths from tall buildings making a grand and unfashionable mess on public sidewalks. Where did this new bogus myth come from? Who made that garbage up?

Why We Solve Far Fewer Homicides In America These Days

When I was a young cop I was astounded to learn that homicides were cleared somewhere around 85%. Who would dare commit a murder with those lousy odds? Capitol punishment was still a reality before that Fuhrman vs. Georgia execution moratorium nearly ended the death penalty for good.

Then came the mid 1980s and the clearance rate for murders began dropping. The murder clearance rate steadily decreased to around 36% where it stands today.

I bet you’re thinking criminals are smarter today and better at avoiding discovery? Not a chance the killers were never very smart nor careful and actually taking steps to hide evidence.

But now we have DNA, high resolution surveillance cameras everywhere, data tracking for every little purchase we make, cell phone cell site data and even GPS gizmos tracking us everywhere we go. We are unintentionally creating airtight alibis for our usual suspects we used to arrest and convict.

The robbery or rape victim turned eyewitness pointed out the suspect in some courtroom and the case used to be all over. Today suspect can quickly tell the cops that he was at the Burger King drive through, bought gas, a bottle of wine and some smokes at a 7-11 store many miles away at the exact time of the crime and prove it without difficulty.

DNA and fingerprints found at crime scenes are often meaningless because suspects are known to their victims and are often guests in their homes. More often than not DNA is clearing wrongly fingered suspects rather than implicating the guilty.

There is a sad truth and that is perhaps as many as half of the people we convicted may well have been innocent of the crime for which they were accused.

Risky behavior and relationships engaged by marginal, throwaway type people make them right to do the time for someone else’s crime. Equally sad is the guilty get away with their crimes and commit more.

The Politics Of Elephant Ivory

I’ve always been fond of elephants and their coveted ivory. My friends at Eagle Grips have offered ivory over the years based on availability and price for top of the line gun grips. Ivory has a special warmth and incredible strength that makes it the very best gun grip material on our planet.

Then came the embargos created in an alleged effort to protect the endangered elephant. The embargos were nothing more than a grand scheme for corrupt Third World, government officials to create a monopoly on clandestine trading and artificially high prices. The end result of the embargos was to make the slaughter of these fine animals even more profitable.

Elephants die and their ivory is harvested without upsetting the balance of nature. Most of us want to protect these awesome and majestic creatures but ivory trade bans only make poaching more profitable and prevalent.

Where does Eagle Grips get their ivory you ask? This is yet another sad story. The now grown children of America’s legendary big game hunters of the 1950s have been selling off their dad’s ivory trophies for big cash. Too often that cash has been used to support narcotic addictions of these sellers.

Here’s a recent ABC news offering on this subject.

Lana Clarkson Had Way Too Many Snakes In Her Head

Out of presence of the jury during court arguments Spector defense lawyers revealed key issues about the dead woman. A detailed summary of Lana Clarkson's mental state issues at the time of her death was exposed. The shocking material came from Clarkson's medical records, diary, writings, e-mails and from various witness statements. There is now little doubt that all of this information will be presented to the jury during this trial.

These issues came up during the L.A. County medical examiner, Dr. Louis Pena's cross-examination by Spector lawyer, Christopher Plourd. That information was kept away from the medical examiner by both cops and prosecutors until after Clarkson's death was ruled as a homicide.

It's obvious that the coroner's office dropped the ball by their failure to do a psychological autopsy on Ms. Clarkson. The Cotoner's homicide ruling was clearly crafted and controlled by the cops and prosecutors who were hiding important evidence.

1. Lana Clarkson made it clear she was considering killing herself.

2. Clarkson was unable to pay the rent at her small Venice apartment.

3. Clarkson suffered from hallucinations involving an un-named but real failed actress who killed herself with a gun.

4. Clarkson battled with alcohol and substance addiction taking 10 narcotic pills per day.

5. Clarkson was obsessed with Marilyn Monroe, had won a role playing Monroe and lost the role because of personal misconduct and hallucinations.

6. Clarkson was familiar with and fond of firearms.

7. Clarkson was deeply in debt.

8. Clarkson sought alternative psychiatric assistance for her mental health issues just before her death.

I have a simple question... Did Clarkson find an great opportunity to engineer a memorable exit at famed record producer Phil Spector's home?

Chicago Corruption Book Is Coming To The Silver Screen

Chicago cop, turned fixer lawyer, turned mob-wrecking government witness, Bob Cooley is about to make another big splash. Cooley’s book, WHEN CORRUPTION WAS KING got picked up on a feature film option deal last week in Hollywood. It was never a question of if, but rather than when the persona of many of Chicago’s incredibly sleazy public officials would grace your local cinema houses.

The rich marriage of characters left over from Al Capone’s mob, Chicago’s politicians, bureaucrats and cops were laid out in this continuing Cooley soap opera that make television’s Sopranos seem lackluster and tame.

As someone who knew the majority of the players in Cooley’s book it was always evident to me that these headliners played by a unique set of unwritten rules. Most honest Chicago cops, prosecutors and judges learned early on to put their blinders on or face getting framed, disgraced and fired if they interfered with any of the Windy City power.

I’m not sure what the film producer’s plans are but there is enough material available for a bunch of sequels creating a powerful film franchise.

It remains to be seen how a certain Chicago cop turned alderman with his fixer lawyer wife who is a sitting Illinois Supreme Court Judge escaped prosecution for the deeds alleged in Cooley’s book. It remains to be seen if their Teflon coating can protect them until the undertakers wheel them away.

My personal dilemma is figuring out whose unforgettable part I’m going want to play in this film.

The website for Cooley's book is here.

Another ABC News Story About Guns...

ABC News got it right again for a change...

Stanford University Home To Young Imposter

I find this story a sign of our times. We live in a land where we make laws to control illegal immigration and then don’t enforce them. There can be little respect for any of our laws under that pathetic example.

You don’t get educated at Stanford University for free and very few poor kids will ever see the inside of a world class place to prepare for a life of wealth and privilege a Stanford education will bring.

Then came the determined and clever 18 year-old lass by the name of Azia Kim who infiltrated the campus as a “student” for no less than eight months. She talked her way into the dorm and made herself at home. That is until her lack of a key required climbing through dorm windows understandably brought too many questions.

Stanford’s administration is now in a security panic as they find themselves embarrassed over the ruse. I can’t help but find Azia Kim to be a child in need who perhaps deserves a chance for real student enrolment. I also see a career ahead for this girl perhaps at our Central Intelligence Agency. That is if she’s not arrested and prosecuted for her eight-month adventure. I hope Stanford administrators will walk away from such retribution.

Azia Kim is a child of out time. There are so many people with money they will never be able to spend in their lifetimes who my get a their own personal reward by investigating Kim’s plight and help her realize the status of the trust fund babies at Stanford’s hollowed halls.

I think of all the Liberal rich ladies with big opinions and lots of cash that could step up to the plate and help like Barbra Streisand, Rosie O’Donnell and Hillary Clinton.

Dr. Henry Lee, “Least credible witness.”

Amazing words said on the record by Judge Larry Paul Fidler, during the Phil Spector murder trial. It was said out of the presence of the jury. Fidler further indicated that he will not instruct the jury about Dr. Lee’s credibility.

Fidler must be gunning for a mistrial because there is no way that statement and it’s prejudicial taint will be kept from this un-sequestered jury.

Fidler’s remarks came from a bizarre allegation made by former Spector lawyer, Robert Shapiro’s defense team members. The allegation is that Dr. Lee located and destroyed physical evidence at Phil Spectpr’s home. Shapiro was fired by Spector, and I can only conclude this effort to smear Dr. Lee is fallout from the Shapiro/Spector dispute. If that’s the case it’s an outrageous and unlawful act by Shapiro’s camp. Judge Fidler should have considered the vendetta and source of this garbage before he opened his big mouth.

The prosecution has zero evidence that would show Spector fired the gun inside Lana Clarkson’s mouth. Prosecutors have invented a non-existent piece of missing evidence and a wild theory that would suggest that the gunshot was not self-inflicted. The item in question is supposedly a fingernail and the suggestion it may be marked by bullet wipe if it even exists.

The goofiest part of this theory is that the cops and their CSI team somehow missed the item in question and Dr. Lee found it long after cops opened the death scene and returned control of it back to Phil Spector.

Prosecutors have stayed awake nights figuring ways to bring in anything and everything that can to make up for what they don’t have, evidence that Phil Spector killed Lana Clarkson.

Spector's Limo Driver's Story Folds...

Limo driver Adriano DeSouza described the Colt Cobra accurately. He said it was a black gun with brown grips. But it was not in Phil Spector’s hand in this exact pose DeSouza demonstrated in court as he’s claimed. If this Colt Cobra revolver was in Spector’s hand DeSouza would have never even seen the grips.


This startled limo driver simply assumed the gun was in Spector’s hand. If Adriano DeSouza really believes his own story we can only suspect in all the excitement his assumptions became his own reality.

When police found Clarkson and the gun this is what they saw. The brown grips are clearly visible on this gun at Clarkson’e feet. It’s uncontested that DeSouza saw Clarkson slumped in the chair as this photo reveals.

Star Prosecution Witness Limo Driver Lied In Spector Case

Limo driver Adriano Desouza is not so dumb. He’s an illegal alien that knew full well that if he was needed as a witness by the government that would buy him time and perhaps a Green Card. Giving the government what it wants has prevented Desouza’s deportation.

Adriano Desouza’s direct testimony reveals that he is also clairvoyant. Prosecutor Alan Jackson asked Desouza to describe the gun Spector was holding. “A black gun with brown grips”, he said. The problem is the grips on this little gun (old model, Colt Cobra, D frame revolver) can’t be seen when someone is holding the gun by the grip!

I hope Spector’s defense team noticed this obvious lie and feed the lie back to Adriano Desouza during Cross-examination.

Update: To clear up confusion the Limo driver said under direct trial testimony, and to police early on that he saw Spector holding the gun in the exact pose he demonstrated in court. I have recreated that pose in this picture. The gun (Colt Cobra) is very small and the person holding it is 5’5” tall and 150 lbs. He is only slightly larger than Spector.

The driver also said that Spector had blood on his right index finger and that would make sense if Spector picked up the bloody gun after the Clarkson fell. It would be a natural reaction to pick up a gun under those circumstances for safety reasons.

It Looks Like Plea Agreement Time For Howard Morgan

No, I still don’t know what sparked this wild mess. The news here for Howard Morgan is not good. A Chicago jury voted 11-1 for conviction on the most serious charges. Racially charged cases seem to end in acquittal if the cops were White and the defendant Black. Here the jury must have found compelling evidence that Morgan tried to unlawfully open fire on uniformed cops after a minor traffic violation.

Morgan can count on being retried and barring some new evidence for the defense it looks like a long prison sentence for Morgan is in the cards. Howard Morgan needs to fold his cards and get the best deal he can get. Whatever happens now won’t be pretty.

Emotions have run very high on this tale of extreme violence and accusations. For my merely asking questions about what happened on this blog I’ve received a few very offensive anonymous comments that had to be deleted because of the language alone. I hope they did not come from cops.

I never took sides on this story because I could never figure a motive for the total war that took place. On any given day this kind of traffic stop would have become a time for cops including Morgan to all give each other the secret FOP handshake and all continuing with a smile.

The Failure of Katie Couric As An Evening News Anchor

I may not be a fan of Ms. Couric but I will never characterize her as a failure. Her CBS venture is now in a distant third place. Couric has simply been miscast in her new role as a nightly news anchor. She does not fit into the evening news.

I’ve been no stranger to TV news rooms as I’m frequently called out to assist both networks and local affiliates on thousands of new stories over the years. I function as an investigative producer even though I did not choose that road in life. I was drafted into TV news some 19 years ago. I tell you this so you know where my opinion came from.

The Today Show became a entertainment product for mostly women and as a result was loaded with estrogen. The Today Show was and is filled with opinion both overt and covert with a Left Wing flavor. Katie was always seen gushing over the Clintons and politely interacting with Conservative politicians. Couric made no secret of her hatred for American gun rights while supporting many liberal causes. The morning, women’s venue typecast Couric forever.

Couric has an Oprah like influence over other women. This could be seen when Couric led the Pantyhose revolt that nearly put the entire women’s leg wear industry into bankruptcy. I know that all the women in the newsrooms I visited followed Couric by shedding their pantyhose in a monkey see, monkey do exercise. Katie had set the trend for TV newswomen everywhere.

Couric could rival Oprah anytime in day time talk show circles. Evening news is just not Katie’s showcase.