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I love Chicago, was there 3-4 months ago.  We stayed at the Drake which is downtown, close to the river.  The room had a nice view of the Miracle Mile.  The food was great.  We did nothing but walk around for 2 days.  We went to Ditka's and He was there!!  We walked the Navy Pier, went to the top of the Hancock and had a drink.  Kelsey Grammar was filming a movie in one of the parks along Michigan Av and we saw him.  We had a great time and will go back.

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I woke up this morning to go to class and was just really depressed....

It's such a different city than Atlanta is, and in a good way. The food, the people (that I met at least), the attractions, the drink prices....things to do....It's all so amazing.

I live out in East Cobb where the only thing to do is go to chain restaurants and go to the parks around here...its not to fun. I go downtown on the weekends to hang out with my friends, and the only thing down there are bars and Piedmont Park.

Chicago is just so much more "user friendly" than Atlanta is. I'm sure the grass is always greener on the other side, and Im sure winters suck balls, but as far as this time of year, it was incredible. I'm a sailor too, and when i was up in Hancock i saw at least 3 regattas going, and the wind was a constant 15-20mph each day along the coast. Just incredible compared to here.

As far as leaving the city, we took the Red Line up to Wrigley and walked all around there and out to the port where one of the yacht clubs are. For the south, we hopped on the Metra Line and went down to the Science and Industry museum. The U-505 is KICKASS...only the US has the balls to capture and save a German U-boat....as far as the museum goes, you could get there at open, and stay till closed and still not see everything....and we have the Coke and Fernbank Those places seamed "safe" to me. I didn't mind not being armed, but I'm sure anything could happen. On all metro rides, locals struck up conversations with me and my girfriend, asking us where we were from because of her Swedish looks/accent. All were great people suggesting places to go and things to eat. I felt like the ride to Ohare on the Blue Line went through some "Projects" as well as the ride on the Red Line to Wrigley Field, but we didnt get off the train, just rode right through.

I can't wait to go back on vacation...and to all those who don't know...the Trump Tower is an EPIC place to stay  and the rooftop lounge/resturant on one of the setbacks is like Six Feet Under on steroids.

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You've been here long enough to know the rules.

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There are pictures in the thread about the Norway attack! Look there!

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I'm lazy, you are the one who started the thread and mentioned a hot Swedish girlfriend.

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You're at 10.  We need you at about a 7.

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It's such a different city than Atlanta is...

In a typical south Chicago summer evening occurrence, two people were shot while “just standing on the street.” And kids as young as four were there to witness it. So the crack WBBM reporter decided to round up some of the kiddies and get a heart-rending quote to show the folks at home just how guns and violence have corrupted even the city’s youngest citizens.

Only one problem. The cute little tyke who told the man with the microphone “I’m gonna have me a gun” when he grows up also went on to say that the reason he needed a gun was that he wanted to be a police officer. And that little bit of clarification was left on the cutting room floor.

”The only way to prevent this sort of thing from happening again is to track the weapon back to the gun manufacturer, then burn its factory to the ground. As long as it is legal to make and sell a product whose only function is to kill people, that product will be used to kill people illegally. A thug who’s planning a murder is not likely to worry about the penalty for stealing a gun.”

“It’s pretty hard to explain or put your finger on, other than the fact that there’s a total lack of respect and fear by a number of offenders towards the police,” Fraternal Order of the Police spokesman Pat Camden argued. “Give multiple opportunities to drop the BB gun and he doesn’t—who becomes the offender and who is the victim here? The 13-year-old is an offender, pure and simple. We didn’t know it was a BB gun until well after the fact.”

Immediately after the Supreme Court’s McDonald decision—striking down the Windy City’s handgun ban—Mayor Daley’s City Council passed a passel of restrictive gun ownership regulations. Handgun hurdles include a $100 fee (every three years), $15 a gun, registration with the police and firearms training at a gun range. Only Chicago banned gun ranges within the City limits

“Let’s see if we can make a connection here. Slavery. Segregation. Black codes. Jim Crow. What, what did they all have in common? Anybody getting scared? Government sponsored racism . . . Now I want you to connect one more dot on that chain of the African American history in this country, and tell me if I’m crazy . . .

Federal gun laws that facilitate the flow of illegal firearms, into our urban centers across this country, that are killing our black and brown children.”

January - June 2011 TOTAL MURDERS= 185

VICTIMS- BLACK=    74.6%     OFFENDERS- BLACK=   61.1%
                HISPANIC= 19.5%                        HISPANIC=   35.2%
                 WHITE=       4.3                                  WHITE=     3.7%

CHICAGO RACIAL MAKEUP 2010 CENSUS

WHITE-       42%
BLACK-      36.8 %
HISPANIC- 26%
ASIAN-       4.4%

[The law] requires that anyone convicted of a city, state, or federal gun law offense report it to the police department along with contact information, a photograph, and a copy of their driver’s license. Offenders who don’t comply can be jailed up to six months. In turn, the police department is directed to “create and maintain” a registry of the offenders.

“This man has devoted himself to disarming law-abiding citizens, leaving them to the mercy of inner city thugs who habitually disobey Chicago’s gun laws. If he truly believed that guns are bad, then he would drop his request and take his chances with 911 like all of the people whose rights he has trampled.”

The concept of concealed, loaded handguns or the reality of concealed, loaded handguns? Either way, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn reckons Illinois is better off without armed citizens walking freely about the The Land of Lincoln. So if a bill “allowing” residents to exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms hits his desk, Quinn will veto it. “I don’t think we’re in the business of trying to increase danger to the people of Illinois,” Quinn said, getting it exactly backwards. “We want to work with our law enforcement and prevent bad things from happening. I think the passage of this law by the General Assembly would be most unwise and they should know where they governor stands and where the people stand.”

The pending concealed carry legislation, which would allow Illinois residents to carry a loaded, hidden handgun in public, will only add to these grave statistics. New research shows that in the past four years alone, nearly 300 people – including 11 law enforcement officers – have been killed in shootings by people who were legally allowed to carry concealed handguns. There is no compelling evidence to show that more guns make people safer, and history shows there is no system that can adequately keep guns out of the hands of those who are legally prohibited from having them in the first place.

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WBBM TV Shows Chicagoans the Horror of Guns. Sort Of.


NBC Chicago’s Edward Mcclelland: Burn Down Gun Factories

Chicago Police Shooting Spree? 43 Shot Already in 2011; 16 Dead

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Caves on Chicago Gun Range Ban

Chicago Police Chief: Lack of Federal Gun Control is Racist

January - June 2011 TOTAL MURDERS= 185

Chicagoans Rush to Register Guns. Not.

ex-Chicago Mayor Richard “No Guns for You” Daley has requested armed bodyguards into retirement, at the taxpayers’ expense.

“The concept of concealed, loaded hand guns in the possession of private citizens does not enhance public safety, on the contrary it increases danger for everyday people as they go about their lives”

Chicago Mayors Richard Daley and Rahm Emanuel: Concealed Carry Sucks





Yup, sure wounds like a bang-up place to move to. I know a good mover if you need his number.

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Get back to work....

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The pending concealed carry legislation, which would allow Illinois residents to carry a loaded, hidden handgun in public, will only add to these grave statistics. New research shows that in the past four years alone, nearly 300 people – including 11 law enforcement officers – have been killed in shootings by people who were legally allowed to carry concealed handguns. There is no compelling evidence to show that more guns make people safer, and history shows there is no system that can adequately keep guns out of the hands of those who are legally prohibited from having them in the first place.





Thats interesting.....wonder where the data comes from and what the whole story is with the people....

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Four day work weeks foo......