Illinois Bill Would Require Gun Owners to Buy $1M in Liability Insurance
An Illinois state lawmaker is proposing that gun owners be required to carry personal liability insurance of at least $1 million.
Rep. Kenneth Dunkin's bill seeks to amend the state's Firearm Owners Identification Card Act to provides that any person who owns a firearm in the state maintain a $1 million or higher policy of liability insurance "specifically covering any damages resulting from negligent or willful acts involving the use of such firearm while it is owned by such person."
A gun owner would be responsible after a firearm is lost or stolen until the loss or theft is reported to the police department or sheriff of the jurisdiction in which the owner resides.
Police would be empowered to pull the gun license of anyone who does not submit evidence of having the required insurance.
The measure is now in the House Rules Committee.
AP Interview: Transportation secretary says taxing how much we drive may replace gasoline tax
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-lahood-vehicle-mileage-tax,0,6754105,print.storyWASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he wants to consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn — an idea that has angered drivers in some states where it has been proposed.
"What I see this administration doing is this — thinking outside the box on how we fund our infrastructure in America," he said.
The program that funds the federal share of highway projects is part of a surface transportation law that expires Sept. 30. Last fall, Congress made an emergency infusion of $8 billion to make up for a shortfall between gas tax revenues and the amount of money promised to states for their projects. The gap between money raised by the gas tax and the cost of maintaining the nation's highway system and expanding it to accommodate population growth is forecast to continue to widen.
Among the reasons for the gap is a switch to more fuel-efficient cars and a decrease in driving that many transportation experts believe is related to the economic downturn. Electric cars and alternative-fuel vehicles that don't use gasoline are expected to start penetrating the market in greater numbers.
The system would require all cars and trucks be equipped with global satellite positioning technology, a transponder, a clock and other equipment to record how many miles a vehicle was driven, whether it was driven on highways or secondary roads, and even whether it was driven during peak traffic periods or off-peak hours.
The device would tally how much tax motorists owed depending upon their road use. Motorists would pay the amount owed when it was downloaded, probably at gas stations at first, but an alternative eventually would be needed.
Privacy concerns are based more on perception than any actual risk, Atkinson said. The satellite information would be beamed one way to the car and driving information would be contained within the device on the car, with the amount of the tax due the only information that's downloaded, he said.
The devices also could be programmed to charge higher rates to vehicles that are heavier, like trucks that put more stress on roadways, Atkinson said.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/1440402,mayor-daley-emergency-surveillance-cameras.article
Surveillance cams help fight crime, city says Mayor Daley has argued that security and terrorism won’t be an issue if his Olympic dreams come true because, by 2016, there will be a surveillance camera on every street corner in Chicago.
But even before that blanket coverage begins, the “Big Brother’’ network is being put to better use.
Although the city’s vast surveillance network includes cameras installed at private businesses, universities and homes, Orozco said civil libertarians have nothing to fear.
“We do not and we will not take access to any camera inside of a building,’’ he said. When the city accesses private cameras, workers only see “what you would see if you were sitting on a park bench in front of that building,” he said.
In 2004, City Hall used a $5.1 million federal homeland security grant to install 250 cameras at locations thought to be at high risk of a terrorist attack and link them and 2,000 existing city cameras to the 911 center.
Chicago then launched “Operation Virtual Shield,’’ by linking 1,000 miles of fiber cable to a unified “homeland security grid’’ — complete with hundreds of additional cameras and sensors to monitor the city’s water supply and detect chemical and biological weapons.
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I am angry. I feel like our liberty and constitutional rights are being attacked on all fronts under the guise of security, compassion, and desperation. From this stimulus bill to nationalizing the banks to government buying up home foreclosures, I see NOTHING good happening. When Obama speaks, I get angry. How can he pledge to ensure the correct use of taxpayer money when the bill should have outlines PRECISELY how the money would be used before it was approved, giving all the representatives time to READ the stupid proposal, instead of ramming it down everyone's throat. The only hope coming out of Illinois lately has been Rick Santelli's outburst on the floor of the CME Group, calling for a Chicago Tea Party, revolting against this administration's policies. http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1039849853
journalistic
texture
closeup
artsy action shot
My mother would be pleased with this reflection shot...
Don't you just want to squeeze her?
Reading the paper
My favorite
At the piano
She plays more than I do...
Of course, only because she butts me out of the way when I start to practice.
