Friday, April 30, 2010

Sapphic Verse - Deb Mell Says and Sun Times Chimes "Joyful Ordinariness"


Red cheeked boyfriends tenderly kiss me sweet mouthed
under Boulder coverlets winter springtime
hug me naked laughing & telling girl friends
gossip til autumn
A. Ginsberg - Gay Guy Extraordinaire

"I know our governor and many of you on both sides of the aisle do not consider . . . our relationship equal to the relationship you share with your spouse," "So while this is a happy day and one to celebrate, it is also bittersweet."


D. Mell - Lesbian Legislator

Swell Dames in slinky silk make my day, like Kemps 2%
on a big-ass bowl of Wheaties topped off with bananas just past ripe
and maybe just maybe I'll cut a weak one out of herd!

P. Hickey Hopeless Romantic!

Eric Zorn's Reply to Speech Before the House of Burgesses


Tea Partier Pat Henry -

No man, Mr. President, thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging.

And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free — if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending — if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained — we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!



They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable — and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!



Eric Zorn -
Mr. President, my esteemed colleagues, especially the fiery cry-baby Mr. Henry, what do you really want? " These voters are "big babies," as political journalist Michael Kinsley wrote in the introduction of his 1995 book with that title: "They make flagrantly incompatible demands — cut my taxes, preserve my benefits, balance the budget — and then explode in self-righteous outrage when politicians fail to deliver."

A nicer term of art for such people is "symbolic conservatives and operational liberals," said retired SIU political scientist John Jackson, now a visiting professor at the Simon Institute. "I read most of the major polls routinely," he said. "And my long-term reading of those polls certainly seems to indicate that we want it all while damning the government and taxes." "We want Washington and the states to fix all of our problems now," as Slate's Jacob Weisberg wrote earlier this year. "At the same time, we want government to shrink, spend less and reduce our taxes."

Weisberg's essay was titled, "Down with the people: Blame the childish, ignorant American public — not politicians — for our political and economic crisis.What to do? Hope that our leaders find the courage to treat us like adults, and hope that we find the wisdom to appreciate it. When you are being robbed, Man Up! Pay Up! Buck Up! It's the Patriotic Thing! A BFD! Listen to Joe! Joe Biden!

Racist Babies! Look around, do you see any women, blacks, or Pacific Islanders in this House of Burgesses? Dude! What's all this Great Britain Stuff? Context and Narrative, you cry baby!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Liberal Contempt - Gillian, Gordon, the DNC, Corporate Media and all of us.



At my Dad's wake, a little cousin ( 2 1/2 YO) was repeatedly pulled away from the kneeler at my father's coffin, by his mother. The miniature man, as sharply dressed as the ZZ Top Tune, was fascinated by the man in the box. He'd be pulled away toward the cookies in the other room and nimbly scramble back to my Dad's mortal husk. Finally, he asked me "Can I get in with the Dead guy?" To which I replied with no hint of uncertainty, "He'd like nothing better, Pal!" The Little guy was honest and would not be treated with contempt by his elders and betters. Good on you, son!

The little guy spoke from the heart and so did the oafish PM Gordon Brown, when he called the widow Gillian Brown, a life-long Labor ( UK version of a Democrat) Voter 'A Bigot'(click my post title for the Brown stuff).

The two year old and change at a wake is a delight; a Progressive doctrinaire politician like Brown ( which translate to Dick Durbin, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Bill Ayers in Yank Speak) is standard fare like a smelly CTA vehicle - you get on, you pay, but don't expect Chanel #5 on Archer or Ogden.

Gillian Duffy would be a Democrat Tea Party Person and there are many. I live in a traditional Democratic neighborhood that is roundly treated to a Gillian/Brown Tune-up by the corporate media - people who hold traditional values -anti-abortion, patriotic, anti-Gay Marriage, Pro Real Tades Union Labor, Law and Order, Pay Your Taxes and Everyone Else's but Don't Make Me Smile About It, and Don't Raise Anymore.

These folks are treated with contempt and are expected to like it. Gordon Brown needed to parse his meaning and give full context - full something.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Know Not What Misfortune - My Dad's Elysian Fields


My Dad loved his childhood home at 7535 S. Marshield in the Gresham neighborhood ( Little Flower Parish) in Chicago.

He lived there with his sister Helen, the eleven brothers and sisters ( Mary, Bud, Mike, Nora, Kathleen, Marquerite, Jack, Joan, Donald, Bart and Sylvester) who have preceded him to Christ's mantel.

My grandmother Nora and grandfather Laurence bought this home before the Great Depression and maintained it throughout as well as thirteen children, a huge garden, goats and chickens - before the advent of nanny-state ordinances.

From 7535 S. Marshfield Patrick Eugene Hickey went to Little Flower Church and very briefly to the Grammar School, where in the cryptic folklore of Irish family proprieties the Hickey's willful middle child is said to have proved to be an incorrigible - My Uncle Bart, who followed my Dad into the Marines and unrepentant Diogenes who would tell an adolescent nephew that Eileen O'Connor had a 'great set of pins on her,' revelealed, "Your Old Man Decked a Nun -that's why he went to Clara Barton.

Clara Barton Elementary is closer to the ancestral manse than Little Flower and it was there that Dad made pals for life with Catholics and Non-Catholics, Bob Nelson,Dave McMillian, Marsh Anderson, and Russ Haberle. The middle child was ecumenically inclined Catholic as far back as the 1930's. He played ball at Foster Park and Billy Smith Field. Together with the traditional Catholic Crowd who attended Little Flower ( Jimmy Arneberg, Dick Prendergast, Jimmy McNicholas, Tony Kelly and others) they soaked thick rope in gasoline, streched it across 79th Street, lit it afire and stopped streetcars, just to do it. They danced and roller skated with the girls at St. Sabina's Dances and worked hauling ashes at Fleishman's Standard Brands, hauled mail sacks on Polk Street, and coal at Grogans on 76h & Ashland.

These streets of Gresham and prairies and alleys of Little Flower Parish were his Elysian Fields. Patrick Eugene Hickey is there again.

Click my post title for the map of the neighborhood and then click on the address in blue for a photo of his home. It was the home of my massive extended Hickey Family. It remains so.


EcclesiastesChapter 11

Cast your bread upon the waters; after a long time you may find it again.

Make seven or eight portions; you know not what misfortune may come upon the earth.

When the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, wherever it falls, there shall it lie.

One who pays heed to the wind will not sow, and one who watches the clouds will never reap.

Just as you know not how the breath of life fashions the human frame in the mother's womb, So you know not the work of God which he is accomplishing in the universe.

In the morning sow your seed, and at evening let not your hand be idle: For you know not which of the two will be successful, or whether both alike will turn out well.

Light is sweet! and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.

However many years a man may live, let him, as he enjoys them all, remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that is to come is vanity.

Rejoice, O young man, while you are young and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart, the vision of your eyes; Yet understand that as regards all this God will bring you to judgment.

Ward off grief from your heart and put away trouble from your presence, though the dawn of youth is fleeting.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Scott Waguespack Responds to My Call About the Savage Beating of Two Young Women

The Alderman is going door-to-door to fin the savage who beat two girls in Bucktown
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen with Natasha McShane

32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack promptly returned my call concerning the savage beating of two young women in the Bucktown Area*. Having been given a pretty harsh treatment by me in my Saturday's Blog Post, I must compliment the the young Alderman for his sober and very forthright response. I would not be anywhere near as measured abd clear were I to respond to my angry tone.

Bucktown appears to have a pretty solid guy in that office.

I believe that the two women were savagely beaten because they were white, as well as vulnerable. It is very sad that American society has taken the path that tags race hate, but what makes things worse is the injudicious manner of meting out Hate Crime Crimes when perpetrated. Black on white crime is no more ugly than black on black crime. If Hate Crimes are on the books they should be logged no matter what race the perpetrator. It is ridiculous to have a person charged with a Hate Crime for making a snotty remark in a Wal-Mart and ignore the bloody bat beating.
Mr. Waguespack gave me his reasons for not going to the press. Here, is the nub of Alderman Waguespack's response to me.

" Hello Mr. Hickey, I am glad that you are a reporter for Chicago Daily Observer. . .This was a savage attack. . .I haven't been running around to the press. I have been going door-to door to try and find witnesses. I have been helping the police try to identify this man, getting rides for people who need them and trying to help out in a positive way. I don't run to the press everytime that there is a problem. Please call my office if you have any more questions."

Thank you, for your prompt and dignified answer, Alderman.

Not running to the press is something elected officials generally take a pass on - This speaks very Well of Mr. Waguespack.

Likewise, the Alderman of Bucktown indicates that he is a service oriented public official - another rarity. I believe that Scott Waguespack should demand upping the charge at the savage who horrifically bludgeoned these girls. However, that will be up to Alderman Waguespack.

I will call Mr. Waguespack next week and try to bring this to full circle in an Article that I will submit for publication with Chicago Daily Observer.



*

Natasha McShane remains in a critical condition in a Chicago hospital Monday after being brutally beaten by a baseball bat early last Friday morning in the Bucktown area of the city, and her family is in shock as the 23-year-old has never been involved in anything like this in her life.

“Her parents are devastated,” grandmother Bernadette McShane told the Belfast Telegraph.

The Irish student is the eldest of a family of five and her parents are with her as she fights for her life.

“They are at her bedside. She is getting first class treatment at the hospital. We are just waiting on news. We hope to get her back the way she was.”

McShane remains critical, and though Doctors at the Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center carried out a procedure to relieve some of the pressure on her brain, the exact nature of the her injuries are not yet known.

McShane was on her way home with friend Stacey Jurich, who is in a stable condition, when the attack occurred. Jurich was able to give a description of the attacker but no arrests have been made.

Chicago police departments, Sgt Walter Chudzik said the two women were attacked from behind.

“The area where it happened has a lot of bars and restaurants and people hanging around at that time of night. There are predators there that prey on people on a night out. There are robberies every few weeks,” said Chudzik.

Due to the savage nature of the attack, Chudzik said that the police department made the decision to assign many officers to the case.

Fideli Certa Merces - To the Faithful Reward is Certain




PATRICK E. HICKEY

Patrick E. Hickey. Ret. Marine Vet of WWII. Beloved husband of Virginia "Ginny", nee Donahue; loving father of Patrick (the late Mary), Kevin Hickey and Joan (Lawrence) DeMatteo; cherished grandfather of Nora, Conor and Clare Hickey, Kevin and Jack DeMatteo; dearest brother of Helen (the late Daniel) Brennan, the late Mary (the late Jerry) Sullivan, Laurence (the late Alice) Hickey, Michael (the late Mona) Hickey, Nora (the late Edward) Burke, Jack Hickey, Marguerite (the late William) Winters, Joan (the late Thomas) Lewis, Bart (Betty), Sylvester (Aurelia), Donald (Dolores) and Kathleen Hickey; kind uncle of many nieces and nephews. Visitation Tuesday, 2 to 9 p.m. Funeral 9:15 a.m. Wednesday from the Robert J. Sheehy & Sons Funeral Home , 9000 W. 151st St., Orland Park to St. Julie Billiart Church. Mass 10 a.m. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Member of Stationary Engineers Local #399 www.sheetivilt.com 708-857-7878

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Patrick Eugene Hickey 11/22/1924 -04/25/2010 - At Peace in Christ

Presidential Unit Citation w/2 Bronze Stars
Navy Unit Commendation w/ 4 Bronze Stars
Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Streamer w/1 Silver Star
World War II Victory Streamer





My brother Kevin called a little before 5AM to let me know that Dad had gone home to Christ. He was a tough man.

Things will not be so tough on him now, as he is in great company.


When things went very badly for my Dad I wrote this - it is not near enough, but will do for today.

Presidential Unit Citation w/2 Bronze Stars
Navy Unit Commendation w/ 4 Bronze Stars
Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Streamer w/1 Silver Star
World War II Victory Streamer

My brother called and told me that my sister had taken my Dad to Palos Hospital ER.

That morning, my Dad told my brother that he had 'kind of a stomach ache.' My Mom was in a rehabilitation facility in Palos Park, following a knee replacement. Mom swims and walks and her muscle tone is great. Dad has been without his girl for about a week and we thought maybe his stomach issues were concern.

Like most of the Irish and especially men of his generation, Dad believes that if one avoids doctors, one is well.

Not the case. Dad had a blocked colon and it had ruptured - probably days before. Dr. Kanashira, a beautiful Japanese American woman and his doctor, questioned Dad, 'How could you stand the agony?' With his usual understatement he replied, " I'm a Marine."

He is that. I learned from Dick Prendergast ( Leo '43) about ten years ago, just how much of a Marine this man is - They went into the Corps together at 17 years of age. My daughter Clare has a picture of my Dad, Dick Prendergast and the late Dick Burke, a Chicago Fire Captain as young tough Marines on Guadalcanal before Guam. They are skinny and hard looking eighteen year olds. Dad had just come back from Bougainville.

Dad was court-martialed for being AWOL after Boot Camp. He went home on liberty, but his train back to San Diego was side-barred. He was late getting back; court-martial ed and offered the choice of Navy prison or the Solomon Islands. He chose the later.

Without basic infantry training, Dad was sent to Guadalcanal in September of 1943 and trained as a machine gunner with veterans of that battle. He was assigned to A Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines of the 3rd Marine Division. He went to Bougainville in November, 1943 and fought there.

Dick Prendergast trained to be a Signal Corps officer with Joint Assault Signal Companies and arrived on Guadalcanal in 1944. He and my Dad met up again and Dick learned why Hickey went overseas and was veteran. . . .Please God, give him baseball at Billy Smith Field on 79th Street, smooch and hug time with his girl Ginny, play with his grandchildren and big icy pitchers of Keeley's Half and Half ( his favorite beer of all time - that and 'whatever you got') in the company of Donny, Bud, Jack, Bart, Sy and Mike his brothers; candy with Joan, Nonnie, Margarite, Mary, and Kathleen his sisters - his favorite and Irish twin Helen is still with us thank God; pay-back breakfasts with my wife Mary, hugs from his mother Nora and eternal peace with father Lawrence - with whom he never seemed to get along. He's earned this.

He has been up many hills and trails in the jungle, let him have a smooth path to Christ.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Justice for Two Women Savagely Beaten in Bucktown? Call Ald. Scott Waguespack





During the attack, Jurich was struck in the back of the head and dazed, her mother said. She stumbled and the attacker went after McShane, striking her in the head two or three times. McShane crumpled to the ground unconscious in a pool of blood.

When Jurich tried to help McShane, the robber struck Jurich in the head again, her mother said. Jurich knew she needed to escape and screamed for a cabbie to stop his taxi, but the man saw the blood on her clothes and kept going. A second cabbie then stopped and called 911. That’s when Jurich passed out.

This afternoon, Jurich was lucid and able to speak to her mother, although she was having seizures. “The doctors are keeping a close watch on her,” her mother said. . . .The robber was black; 27 to 34; 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9; and wore a tan or light colored hooded sweatshirt, police said.
Sounds like a Hate Crime to me.


Two young girls ( white and one an Irish citizen) were savagely beaten by a black man. Why these two?

Well, the traditional story line and doctrinal parsing for any and all black on white crime is Crime of Opportunity. Opportunity Knocks only when 'a goofy-looking white boy' with a heart condition can stand a pipe beating, two white girls walking home unescorted from a trendy bar need the added special societal emphasis of a bat when the scared would give the savage their money anyway in Bucktown - 32nd Ward Scott Waguespack - an earnest young Progressive stamped as an "Ain't He Great" by the Progressive Brahmin's, or an elderly white man with his daughter crosses 35th Street for a hot dog before a White Sox Game. Then, there is the time honored Crime of Opportunity tactic of the swarm - get six to ten proud young men and prowl around a solitary Bev Rat with a St. Rita T-Shirt and attack on signal.

My son was savagely beaten on two occasions only a few blocks from my house. On both occasions, world weary cops-black CPD police officers and solid professionals by the way - said this would be viewed as a Crime of Economic Opportunity. You see a St. Rita High School kid is a plutocrat in this post racial America.He's a tough, husky lad and took the swarming beat down by between six and seven black youths with fatalistic good humor -"Must have been my Turn, Dad." Indeed, my boy, I was stomped on the Damen Avenue bus between 63rd and 76th by the jubilant graduates of Lindbloom High School decades ago.

The savage assault on these two girls must not go without our lighting fire under the Progressive Rump of Smiling Scott Waugespack - I will make a call to Scott and ask him why he has yet to make a statement and to demand that this be treated as a Hate Crime. I expect that I will be treated to dead air from Scott followed by a series of idiotic columns by the usual suspects -Mary Mitchell, Eric Zorn and Mark Brown blaming the attack by a savage who happens to be black on the policies of George W. Bush.

I love Bucktown and Wicker Park - smart, artistic and joyful. I hope more artistic types would move out our way - but with this savagery taking place up there, maybe they just might chose a neighborhood that is home to Chicago Police Officers and neighbors infused with a culture of watching out for one another. I hope that bastard Cab Driver gets identified!

Start dialing up Scott! I did and got a recording -I'll send Scott a link to this post as well. Just got to let Scott know how I feel.

Huge Hat Tip to Detective Shaved on the thought to call Alderman Scott Waguespack!

The White House is Purple! SEIU Covers the Place


Andy Stern has wads of green stuffed here and there from the dues of low-pay, low-skill workers who remain SEIU members for the rest of their lives.

Back before the offices of Janitors Union Local 25 here in Chicago was raided by leadership of what is now SEIU, janitors had universal family health coverage and found a path to skilled trades. No Mas!

SEIU has organized all no skill and low skill workers -janitors, nursing home workers and such - and become a force. They are a political force - a Marxist class warfare, tax-the-middle-class-out-of-existence force that controls timid and often gutless politicians, the corporate media, and a huge chunk of the Democratic National Committee.

Dues go to politics.

Andy Stern left SEIU hours before Judge Zagel released the Blago Santiago Proffer which features the active work of Andy Stern's game of manipulation. He also left SEIU in a huge jackpot - their pensions are as rocky as Broadway Bank last Tuesday - it closed yesterday. Not Andy, not Anna Burger ( Andy lite), and not the SEIU leadership. You see they went to all the right schools, Miss Lonely, and you're gonna hafta get used to iiiiiiiiiittttt! Sorry, feeling Dylanesque.

SEIU Leadership pensions were funded at a math-boggling 107%! The rank and file members get Purple T-Shirts and wildly under-funded pensions that should be as good as the Broadway Bank!

That ain't nothing, Cupcakes! Andy Stern seed the Federal government with Purple Leftists and that is the real danger.

It is often said that in politics, personnel is policy. By that measure, SEIU carries considerable weight within the Obama administration. Patrick Gaspard, formerly the executive vice president of politics and legislation for the powerful Local 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, is now the political director at the White House.

Craig Becker, formerly SEIU's associate general counsel and adviser to the ACORN affiliate SEIU 800 in Chicago, is now on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Mr. Obama made a recess appointment of Mr. Becker after he failed to be confirmed by the Senate. This was a significant win for organized labor. Mr. Becker has hinted at having the NLRB enact card check without a vote in Congress.

SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger sits on the Obama administration's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Mr. Stern himself was appointed by Mr. Obama to its deficit commission. (Mr. Stern has said he will stay in that post after he steps down from SEIU.)

Mr. Stern's abrupt resignation has led many to question his motives and ponder his next steps. Whatever the answer, one thing is certain: He leaves SEIU - especially its pension funds - swimming in red ink. Sadly, it will be the union's rank-and-file members who will be paying for Mr. Stern's profligacy well into the future.
Click my post title for Andy's Handiwork.

Andy Stern should be hearing from the Feds about his role in the Blago Fire sale Madness. While you are talking to Andy, Fitzy . . . Oh, I'm sure you're on it,

Friday, April 23, 2010

Well done Neighbors! Here's Jim McMahon with our Local School Council for the Chicago Agricultural High School!


From our Pal Jim McMahon!

Here are the results from the election at the Ag School. All 5 of our candidates* were elected, and by landslide margins. Our candidate with the lowest number of votes (714), was more than double the amount gotten by the next highest winning candidate (320).

It’s amazing what can be accomplished when we all stick together, and there was an unprecedented 1,189 voters that did just that yesterday. Congratulations to the winners and a special thanks to Pat Hickey for posting this and to those that got out and voted to make this victory possible.

Look out Mayor Daley….they’re awake now!



6 - PARENT REPRESENTATIVES
898 = Mike McGrath*
766 = Keith Oliver*
714 = Carlos Soto*
320 = Jean Cook
312 = Rouhy Shalabi
285 = Debra Greene

DEFEATED
164 = Thomas McMahon
115 = Milton Garrett
91 = Catherine Boganey
48 = Marcia Bass
15 = John Pape



2 - COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES
941 = Kevin Helmold*
914 = Denis Riordan*

DEFEATED
109 = Elizabeth Perrine
91 = Charles James
84 = Brenda Pryor



2 - TEACHER REPRESENTATIVES
32 = Gail Gavin
28 = Molly Condon

DEFEATED
26 = Brendan O’Laughlin



Posted by Jim McMahon to . . . With Both Hands at 12:29 PM

Sun Times Has Real Reporters, Natasha Korecki and Chris Fusco, Shedding the Light on Blago SEIU Senate Silverfish


The Icons and the See-nothing, Know -Nothing Sun Times Editorial Board gave Candidate Obama a Free Pass and Ride to the White House. Sun Times reporters would have dug deeper, but maybe the leash was on under Old Cyrus.

The Chicago Sun Times of neighborhood guy James Tyree is blessed with real talent - the reporters. Newspaper people Natasha Korecki, Mark Konkol, Chris Fusco, Maureen O'Donnell and the superb investigative pit bull Tim Novak.

The editorial board stinks and the iconic and fatuous loudmouth columnists offer little or nothing. The little that they do is enough to insult working people ( cops, firefighters, public employees and their neighborhoods) and drive a larger wedge between the races - to say nothing of the constant Catholic bashing.

That said, Jim Tyree's reporters are very good.

Today, Natasha Korecki and Chris Fusco beam some light on the SEIU Silverfish. Full disclosure: I met Tom Balanoff years ago over in Indiana when his father James represented the Steelworkers ( unlike most upper-echelon SEIU people, Tom Balanoff ( I think represented Cement workers at the time) is a working man and not a U. of Pennsylvania Social Worker manque) and found him to be a real gentleman and a rock-ribbed union man. SEIU needed a real working man in order to make sense to other real Union People here in Illinois -a real Union State. I believe that SEIU, which began here in Chicago with the sacking of the Old Janitors Local #25 in the 1970's, is anything but a real labor union, but that's me. Tom Balanoff, I believe has been triangulated by Stern and the Obama Staff and that Andy Stern will surface as the real deal maker. Again, what I know of Tom Balanoff is that he is a genuine, sincere and honest man getting jackpotted by power mad Stern and Anna Burger.

Here is Natasha Korecki and Chris Fusco's fine work:

It is the first indication that Obama personally called an official with SEIU, which had donated $1.8 million to Blagojevich.

Two sources with knowledge of the investigation say Obama called Balanoff on Nov. 3, 2008, to give Balanoff the green light to continue talking to Blagojevich about Jarrett's possible appointment. The man who would be elected president the next day first left Balanoff, whose union also supported Obama, an innocuous message asking him to return the call.

When Balanoff and Obama later spoke, Obama -- in addition to discussing the election and campaigning -- relayed to Balanoff that he would not publicly come out in favor of any one candidate for his replacement, sources said.

Obama also told Balanoff he preferred Jarrett to come to the White House with him, according to the sources. However, he said he thought Jarrett would be electable and a strong senator, the sources said.

Blagojevich's lawyers also cited a Feb. 3, 2009, FBI interview with the union official, quoting the official as saying, "Obama was aware that [Balanoff] would be reaching out to Blagojevich."

Balanoff interpreted the conversation as a green light to keep discussing Jarrett's candidacy with Blagojevich, the sources said.

The Blagojevich court filing doesn't accuse the president of any wrongdoing.


I hope that Tom Balanoff dodges any and all misery in this shabby tale, but I hope that Mandarin Andy Stern finally gets revealed as the Silverfish he is and has been.

SEIU's Andy Stern in The Shadows, of Blago's Smile? Watching the Silverfish Scatter


A “labor union official” close to the President (who may be SEIU President Andy Stern) is said to contradict public statements on the case by Obama directly.

Blago's subpoena for President Obama is like turning on a light and watching the silver fish scatter.

Hours before Judge Zagel releases the Santiago Proffer of the Federal Case against the antic former Guv, Andy Stern exited the National scene stage left.

The 'labor Official' should just about prove that Kingmaker Marxist Andy Stern might have exceeded his grasp.

I do not believe that there is any mess on the President's shoes, but those close to the President, like SEIU's Andy Stern, could create a wave of disgust unseen thus far among the President's cheerleaders in the corporate media.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Team Blago Subpoena's President - Stern, Andy Stern, Times Ahead!


King Maker Andy Stern and King Imitator Rod Blago!
Andy left the building only hours before Judge Zagel released the Blago Santiago Proffer, but Elvis is still in the Federal hotseat!

From the Folks Who Brought You (and Bought Others) - "Raise Our Taxes!" The SEIU! Andy Stern Presents Buy Your Senate Seat!

April 22, 2010 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Now he wants to butt heads with Barack Obama.


Rod Blagojevich today filed a motion in federal court to call President Barack Obama as a witness in the impeached governor's corruption case. The trial is due to begin on June 3.

Former Gov. Blagojevich's defense team issued a trial subpoena for the president to take the stand as a corroborating witness. "President Obama has direct knowledge to allegations made in the indictment. In addition, President Obama's public statements contradict other witness statements, specifically those made by labor union official and Senate Candidate B (Valerie Jarrett). It is anticipated that labor union official will be a witness for the government. His accounts of events directly related to the charges in the indictment are contradicted by President Obama's public statement," defense lawyers wrote.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/iteam&id=7400895

Likewise in today's Chicagoist


Lawyers for former governor Rod Blagojevich said last winter they hoped to call President Obama to the witness stand to testify at the ex-gov's trial. They made that hope official today as they moved in court today to issue President Obama with a trial subpoena to have him testify. The feds interviewed Obama before he was sworn in to get any information he might have on the alleged attempt to sale his vacated U.S. Senate seat. Natasha Korecki reports for the Sun-Times:Experts have told the Sun-Times that while presidents are subject to be called to trial -- President Bill Clinton gave a videotaped deposition in a civil case -- the White House can cite everything from national security to schedule conflicts to avoid the witness chair. Blagojevich's lawyers would have to persuade Judge James Zagel that written or video testimony was no substitute.
From Chicagoist and featuring my favorite Sun Times Repporter!


Avec!

On the afternoon of November 3, 2008, Blagojevich met with Labor Union Official and another representative of SEIU. During the meeting, there was a discussion about a number of different candidates for the Senate seat. Both SEIU representatives expressed their view that Senate Candidate B would be a good choice for the Senate seat. Blagojevich stated that he assumed that if Obama was interested in Senate Candidate B being named to replace Obama, then Obama would be in touch with Blagojevich…



“On November 5, 2008 (Blagojevich Call #255), Blagojevich informed Deputy Governor A that Labor Union Official, who was one of the officials who had met with Blagojevich on November 3, 2008 to discuss the Senate seat, was coming back to meet with Blagojevich to discuss the Senate seat. Labor Union Official was set to meet with Blagojevich the following day. Blagojevich talked through jobs he could request in exchange for naming a candidate to the Senate seat and noted that none of them would be attainable if it were not for the fact Blagojevich had the right to fill the Senate seat.



Later on November 5, 2008 (Blagojevich Call #261), Blagojevich talked to Harris. They discussed what Blagojevich should say to Labor Union Official regarding what Blagojevich wanted in exchange for naming Senate Candidate B to the Senate seat… Harris stated that if Blagojevich’s goal was to trade the Senate seat for a job elsewhere, then Blagojevich needed to “put it on the table” with Labor Union Official…



Based on Harris’s prior conversations with Blagojevich, Harris informed Blagojevich that Harris had told Deputy Governor A that they were looking for a “reasonable ask” in exchange for the Senate seat that “takes care” of Blagojevich’s family and keeps Blagojevich’s future political ambitions open. Harris stated they were now looking at private foundations in which the president-elect might have influence and would not appear to look like a “deal” for the Senate seat. Harris suggested they look at private foundations that were “heavily dependent on federal aid.” … Blagojevich suggested to Harris and Deputy Governor A that it was difficult to see this kind of deal coming together, but told Deputy Governor A and Harris to find the foundations that SEIU funded. Deputy Governor A agreed that they should find the foundations SEIU funded because then SEIU could help broker the deal with Blagojevich. Again, Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A and Harris to “look into those ones that are funded by labor.”



Later on November 5, 2008 (Blagojevich Call #281), Blagojevich spoke to Advisor B about Blagojevich’s interest in getting a private foundation job. Blagojevich told Advisor B that SEIU and the president-elect could remove the head of a particular foundation and give the position to Blagojevich…



On the morning of November 6, 2008 (Blagojevich Calls #317, 319, and 321), Blagojevich talked to Harris. Blagojevich had arranged a meeting with Labor Union Official for later that afternoon. Harris and Blagojevich discussed the meeting with Labor Union Official and how Blagojevich could ask for what Blagojevich wanted from Labor Union Official…



Later in the call, Harris suggested that Blagojevich request a position as the paid national coordinator for Change To Win, an organization partially funded by SEIU, in exchange for naming Senate Candidate B to the Senate seat. Harris suggested to Blagojevich that the Change to Win idea might be better than a private foundation because the Change to Win job is controlled by SEIU and Blagojevich would not necessarily have to step down as governor to take it immediately, like he might have to do with a private foundation job. Blagojevich responded that the Change to Win idea was a “fucking great idea.” Later, Blagojevich stated he would like to be on some “corporate boards” in addition to taking the Change to Win job. Harris responded that Harris thought Change to Win would be a full-time job. Blagojevich asked “would I be able to get a little extra income though.” Harris responded that he did not think Blagojevich would want to sell himself to SEIU as a part-time employee. Blagojevich responded “No, but if I could sit on a couple a boards, that’s not much time, or teach a class.” Later Blagojevich asked how much the Change to Win job would pay. Harris suggested it probably paid at least what Labor Union Official made working for SEIU. Blagojevich responded “I betcha he makes, well he lives on the north shore, you gotta think he makes more than the governor, right?”



…Blagojevich informed his wife that Blagojevich was meeting with Labor Union Official that afternoon. Blagojevich talked to his wife about becoming the national director of Change to Win and that “hopefully you get paid decent.” Blagojevich also informed his wife that Change to Win would allow him to form a national network of low wage workers to help in his future political career. During the conversation, Blagojevich’s wife looked up information about Change to Win on the internet, in part to determine “what they paid their people in 2006.” Blagojevich’s wife had trouble finding the salary information on-line. Blagojevich responded “Don’t worry about it. Yeah, that’s, you negotiate that. I’d like a 4-year contract for a million a year or somethin’. . . . Or 750 or whatever. It’d have to be good. Obama’s got excess money, he just gives them more money.” Blagojevich told his wife he was not sure the Change to Win idea would happen, but it was one of several options.



On November 6, 2008, Blagojevich met with Labor Union Official alone… Thereafter, Blagojevich made clear to Labor Union Official that he would name Senate Candidate B to the Senate seat in exchange for being named Secretary of HHS…



Later on November 7, 2008 (Blagojevich Calls #403, 405, 406, and 408), Blagojevich spoke to Harris and Advisor A, a political advisor, about, among other things, Blagojevich’s request for the Secretary of HHS position and the possibility of obtaining a job with Change to Win… Advisor A told Blagojevich that Advisor A liked the Change to Win idea. Blagojevich asked whether the Change to Win idea was better than trying to work out a deal to provide the Senate seat to Individual L. Advisor A indicated the Change to Win idea was better to help Blagojevich financially and his future politically. Blagojevich agreed…



Later on November 12, 2008 (Blagojevich Calls #533, 535, and 537), Blagojevich spoke to Advisor A. Blagojevich explained his 501(c)(4) idea to Advisor A and stated it would be a place for Blagojevich to get a job after he was governor, like Change to Win. Advisor A told Blagojevich that Advisor A liked Change to Win better because it had “fewer fingerprints.” Blagojevich stated his concern with Change to Win was that it might not be there in two years while the 501(c)(4) was something Blagojevich could “control.” …
The Santiago Proffer!

Raise Their Taxes By All Means!


State of Illinois - 12,910,409 people

Okay between 10,000 and 15,000 chanters and T-shirt wearing salt and sugar addicts (by the photos) volunteered to raise their taxes. Let's say 12,000 Tax Kamikaze pilots.

Fair enough - as SEIU commands so must some obey - corporate media, tax-salaried employee unions -janitors, teachers & etc.

Raise their taxes by all means.

"Here Comes the Navy -2010! " Dont' Ask; Don't . . .Yell!



Hollywood used to back the play the of the military. I am sure Sean Penn, Alec Baldwin and Bill Maher could fill in . . .the shoes of James Cagney, Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh in a service picture that Breaks the Back of Don't Ask; Don't Tell!


To continue a grudge with naval officer Biff Martin, feisty construction worker Chesty O'Connor joins the navy and manages to get stationed on the same ship as Martin. Further complications arise when O'Connor starts dating Martin's sister, whom he meets while on shore leave. . . but really has eyes for Biff and Droopy.



Wilbur 'Droopy' H. Mullins: [Droopy waves, then blows a kiss to his buddy, Chesty, who's leaving the ship for a new post.]
CPO Biff Martin: [Backs away from Droopy] What are you two guys, a couplea violets?
Wilbur 'Droopy' H. Mullins: Aw, mind your own business.
[Blows Chesty O'Connor another kiss]
Original 1934 Dialogue with a 2010 theme! Fabulous!

Read the Middle Class Guy - Real Perspective on the SEIU Coalition Rally in Springfield


I'm a Democrat and most of my neighbors and all of my family are Democrats. We are Pro-Life and Pro - Real Trades Union. We are middle class - for now.

SEIU make ACORN look like an Altar and Rosary Society.

Any union that has anything to do with SEIU ends up screwed;blued; and tattooed. Ask Denny Gannon. SEIU uses Leftist Causes and Smears the name of Labor - Gay Marriage, Abortion, Reversing the flow of the Chicago River, and killing American Labor by murdering the middle class is what and all SEIU is all about.

A retired Police Officer on the north side presents some genuine perspective on the SEIU Ordered rally that too place in Springfield. SEIU Cheerleader Keith Keliher was only L-Sized Purple T-Shirt in the crowd. It is odd that most SEIU members seem to sport the XXX -Sized Purple T's. Teachers Unions and the Shriver Center for Poverty Law - whatever the Hell that means - AFSCME and all the other sheep were heared by Andy Stern's BS in SocialWork degreed organizers to Springfield where the shout of "RAISE MY TAXES" deflated any semblance of seriousness. The Trough is dry. Read the Middle Class Guy!



Government employment is not a right. It is public service. Serving the public is a privilege. There is no entitlement to a government job. There is no right to government employment. They serve.

If there is no money, their service is no longer needed. There is no money. The well has run dry. Illinois is now a deadbeat state.

The state is going bankrupt. This is due to egregious, wanton, and reckless spending. It is due to excessive padding of the payroll with union patronage jobs. Quinn's response has been to cut education, health and human services, and emergency services as a threat. Either he gets tax increases or the most vulnerable people in the state suffer.
. . .

SEIU bought Quinn for 1.7 million dollars. When they buy a politician, they expect him to stay bought. The same holds true for AFSCME and the other employee unions. Buying politicians is what they do. In return, they expect ever growing government payrolls to keep those union coffers filled. It is not about good governance. It is all about the money. Quinn knows this. It would not be surprising if he did not advocate this mass rally with his union owners.

There is only one way out of this financial mess. Cutting the budget by one third. Starting with the least essential services and moving upward. It is a good bet this can be done with no loss of essential services, including education. Departments with overlapping or similar responsibilities must be consolidated or merged. Some must be eliminated.

It takes political will and courage to cut the fat out of a budget. It takes a corrupt spineless bought and paid for coward to cave in to special interests and raise taxes.


Thanks Middle Class Guy! Too bad our corporate media only prints what SEIU allows.

Vote Today for Our Representatives to Local School at Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences Council


Neighbors! Let's vote for five great neighbor citizens as our representatives onto the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences School Council.

Only Suckers Beef and only voting citizens act to make a difference. I'll vote before I take the girls to school and head over to Leo. Get a big cup of coffee at Kean on 111th Street and head over to Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and vote. This is our school and our neighborhood.

Our neighbor and Fire Department hero, Jim McMahon has been working to get us all to quit beating our gums and vote. Thanks Jim!

LOCAL SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTION


I just voted for five neighborhood people at
Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences
3857 W. 111th Street
Chicago, IL 60655

Go get them on our council, Neighbors!

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO VOTE!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
From 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM

I urge you to support our local school and community by voting for these 5 great guys to be our representatives. All 5 of them are neighbors and co-workers of ours, and will treat everyone in OUR community with fairness and the respect they have earned.

 Mike McGrath ~ Parent Representative ~
 Carlos Soto ~ Parent Representative ~
 Keith Oliver ~ Parent Representative ~
 Dennis Riordan ~ Community Representative ~
 Kevin Helmold ~ Community Representative ~

All parents and community members of Mount Greenwood, Beverly and Morgan Park are eligible to vote in this election.

You’ll need 2 forms of I.D. to vote
POSTED BY JIM MCMAHON & Mile NeedhamAT 2:56 PM




Mike Klonsky wants you to stay at home. Vote, Nighbors!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

One of These Two Will Make You Sick As Hell! There Ought'a Be A Law!



Currently, there are no limits on the amount of salt manufacturers can use in products. "I don't want this to take 10 years. . . . This is a public health crisis." Rep. Rosa DeLauro

My God, People it's a Crisis! This is Ugly!

Chicago Ray Exposes MSNBC's Hermann Goering Lite (er Fat) Ed Schultz


My buddy Chicago Ray gives everyone a chance to Listen to the Voice and the Nature of the Progressive!

Click my post title for Big Ed Schultz -MSNBC's Hermann Goering! Less drool than Chris Matthews, less basso than Olbermann and almost as manly as Maddow!

Mark Brown Trolling for Quigley Mayoral Bid? Mutt and Jeff Ride!


Mark Brown and Mike Quigley! David Axelrod and Mayor Daley?

Mark Brown helped Mike Quigley smear a County Board Candidate back a few years ago and the young woman's Dad, a working man, would still wish to parse a few sentences with Mark Brown. Hey politics ain't bean bag.

Mike Quigley has always used Mark Brown. Politicians with no real body support from regular voters tend to play out their games in the press or on WTTW. Public servants who can count on their neighbors and later their constituents do not need a hack or a celebrated mouthpiece. Mike Quigley needs the press.

This Mutt and Jess Team of Brown and Quigley makes sense - Quigley's name is never used in the same gerund let alone sentence with the noun Mayor, unless it appears in a Mark Brown column. You hear Terry Peterson, Tom Dart, Congressman Jackson and his talented and whip smart wife Sandy Jackson from voters, but never Little Big Man Mike Quigley. He is a "slot open" elected official - a person like Jan Schakowsky or Mike Quigley get 'slot opened' into public office - and usually into a spot where they can do little harm or hindrance to the commonweal.

To day Mark Brown, does the "Hey, Hey, Hey Mike Quigley!!!!! Everybody!" . . .

Every Chicago congressman would like to be mayor in the moments they aren't imagining themselves as senator or president. Heck, nearly half of them already have run for mayor, if you count Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s aborted candidacy of four years ago.

So when Quigley ended up on the phone with me Tuesday on an unrelated matter, I had to put the question to him in light of Emanuel's odd public declaration of interest in succeeding Richard M. Daley: Should we add his name to the long list of aspirants interested in becoming mayor if Daley calls it quits next year?

"This is all b.s. The mayor is running again," Quigley answered adamantly, not using the abbreviation.

Is that on the record?

"That's on the record."

Truth be told, I'm not sure Quigley has any more insight into Daley's plans than anybody else in Chicago politics, perhaps less considering the somewhat strained history of their relationship.

Still, as long as he's willing to attach his name to his words on a day when so many others are speaking from behind an opaque screen, it seems worth reporting.

Quigley said he based his opinion not on inside information so much as his personal dealings with Daley since being elected last year to fill Emanuel's seat in Congress.


. . . in the sad and daffy hope that a couple of dopes might think it is for real.

Vote Tomorrow for Our Neighborhood School Representatives!


Neighbors! Let's vote for five great neighbor citizens as our representatives onto the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences School Council.

Only Suckers Beef and only voting citizens act to make a difference. I'll vote before I take the girls to school and head over to Leo. Get a big cup of coffee at Kean on 111th Street and head over to Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and vote. This is our school and our neighborhood.

Our neighbor and Fire Department hero, Jim McMahon has been working to get us all to quit beating our gums and vote. Thanks Jim!

LOCAL SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTION


Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences
3857 W. 111th Street
Chicago, IL 60655

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO VOTE!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
From 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM

I urge you to support our local school and community by voting for these 5 great guys to be our representatives. All 5 of them are neighbors and co-workers of ours, and will treat everyone in OUR community with fairness and the respect they have earned.

 Mike McGrath ~ Parent Representative ~
 Carlos Soto ~ Parent Representative ~
 Keith Oliver ~ Parent Representative ~
 Dennis Riordan ~ Community Representative ~
 Kevin Helmold ~ Community Representative ~

All parents and community members of Mount Greenwood, Beverly and Morgan Park are eligible to vote in this election.

You’ll need 2 forms of I.D. to vote
POSTED BY JIM MCMAHON & Mile NeedhamAT 2:56 PM


Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Could Rahm Win the Hearts, Minds and Votes of the Chicago Helots in the 3rd District?


Rahmbo aspires to be mayor, or so he confessed to Charlie Rose - the Bill O'Reilly of Public Television.

Emanuel told Charlie Rose on the host's PBS talk show, in an interview to be broadcast at 11 p.m. "But if Mayor Daley doesn't, one day I would like to run for mayor of the city of Chicago," Emanuel continued. "That's always been an aspiration of mine even when I was in the House of Representatives."

5th Congressional District

The 5th District is represented by Mike Quigley and none better - so they say. Who they are I can not say.

Rahm Emanuel is razor sharp. He's a walking, cussing, public transportation bussing Occam's Razor.

Now, I know for a fact that Rahm has begged help from the nefarious political Helot Armies of the 11th. 13th, 14th, and 19th Wards to scare up some votes for Rahm annointed Progressive wannabees.

Now, the question might be whether or not Rahm Emanual, WTTW, NPR, the Woods Fund, Northwestern Lawsuit School, Andy Shaw's Bed and Breakfast Government Association, LGBT Water Reclamation District River Reversers, and the Lads of Boystown would seek Helot Yeomanry armed with clipboards and pulp from Mayor Dave Orr to garner signatures.

Or, would "Combover Dave" Axelrod parse out a new compellingly Progressive election narrative - Virtual Signatures? Beats Cemetery Votes all to Hell.

Let's see here, now. The 3rd District and the 5th District - breeders in the 3rd and Boystown in the 5th! Now, that's a diverse coalition to build!

Rahm's 5th District: ( City of Chicago Only mind you)Transient Professionals who think Catholics are just mean!77.5% White, 2.3% Black, 6.5% Asian, 23.0% Hispanic, 0.3% Native American, 9.8% other
In the City of Chicago it encompasses much of the north side from the Lake front . . . Wrigley Field and Chicago's gay district of Boystown are both located in this district, along with the Chicago neighborhoods of Lakeview, Uptown and Lincoln Park.
Wikipedia thank you!
The Helot World of Dan Lipinski's Catholics Everywhere Breeding Up a Storm
3rd Congressional District ( City of Chicago only Mind you!)


77.9% White, 5.9% Black, 2.9% Asian, 21.3% Hispanic, 0.3% Native American, 2.7% other
In the City of Chicago, it includes the communities of Bridgeport (home of mayor Richard M. Daley until he relocated in the late 1990s to the Near South Side's Central Station development), Clearing, Garfield Ridge, Mount Greenwood and West Lawn; almost all of Beverly; those portions of Archer Heights and West Elsdon west of Pulaski Road; the western portions of Ashburn, Chicago Lawn and Morgan Park; the portion of McKinley Park south of Archer Avenue; parts of Gage Park and New City; and a small section (1/16 m²) of Armour Square.
Wikipedia again thank you!

This Rahm Aspiration for the 5th Floor Chair will be like Smash McKenna ( Union Pipe Coverer) riding Angelina Jolie ( really cool and caring person).

Monday, April 19, 2010

WAPO's E. J. Dionne - A Pinched Off Product and Parser


E. J. Dionne is really a pinched off little product. Why only days ago E. J. Dionne was telling American Catholics what fools they be and how our evil faith offends Progressive sensibilities. Yet, E. J. Dionne can limbo lower!

For months, Tea Party members ( I am a Chicago Democrat by the way) were NASCAR addicted, dentally challenged Klan members with single digit I.Q.s. Voila! A Poll and narrative shift for the pencil necked parser. I read E.J.'s latest pronouncements -Tea Party Americans are Privileged - Folks with Dough like E.J., Danny Glover, Sean Penn, Arianna Huffington, Chris Buckley, Weeepy Walsh of Salon, the MSNBC Tool Shed, the Kennedy Clan, Billy Ayers - real working stiffs and regular joes.

Now, with poll in hand E.J. Dionne ( is that not the name one would give to a child destined for victimhood and a life of ass-kickings in St. Cajetan's or what?) the Tea Party Americans are over-paid suburban haters and misanthropes of Country Club.

I know a good number of people - all of them Democrats - who are Tea Party Members. -three of them are African Americans. I party with the 19th Ward regular Democratic Party or nowhere!

They detest politicians who parse and change the narrative almost with as much passion as they detest iconic but pinched off little products with columns in cheerleader newspapers.

But that's just me . . .and millions of other people. I took poll - hung a net on it and have the little guys shoots 3s at it in my driveway.

Privilege, E.J. ; that's privilege!

Justice Lisa Madigan - Hell Yes!

Leo Man and Illinois Chief Justice Tom Fitzgerald and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan

Supreme Court Justice Lisa Madigan? Hell Yes!

On the only major abortion case her office has handled, Madigan gritted her teeth and took the anti-abortion side of the case, even though she favors abortion rights. Madigan argues that state law requires the courts to enforce a long-mothballed law requiring abortion clinics to notify a minor girl's parents before performing an abortion.

She argued the Illinois v. Caballes case before the U.S. Supreme Court and won. And she argued the pro-law enforcement side of the case, winning police the right to use drug-sniffing dogs on cars to go after drug smugglers. (Slate's article about that hearing assigned all lawyers and judges a breed; Madigan was a collie.) Madigan never faltered as she stood at the podium, seven months pregnant, confidently responding to the justices' questions and even joking with retiring Justice John Paul Stevens -- who Obama's next nominee would be replacing -- about how fast he drives on highways when he returns to his home state of Illinois.


Lisa Madigan is an ideal choice for the United States Supreme Court.

Once out of the election cycle, smart Chicago Democrats give Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry it promotes short shrift. Really smart Chicago Democrats give them the thumb over the shoulder - i.e. Illinois State Representative Kevin Joyce.

Lisa Madigan is really smart - not as smart as her Old Man, House Speaker Madigan, but very. very smart. More importantly, Lisa Madigan listens to common sense and is wildly skilled, personable and non-doctrinaire.

If President Obama is smarter than Jan Schakowsky, he will push for Lisa Madigan as his nominee for the Supreme Court of the United States
However, I think that the President is as smart as Jan Schakowsky.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

More Hand Wringing BS From Mark Brown - Murders Happen Because Thugs Feel Comfortable Doing So.


There were 458 homicides in Chicago last year, and that was a good year -- the fifth-lowest murder toll in the city's recent history. By the time Police Supt. Jody Weis met with reporters Friday to talk about his plans for keeping things under control this weekend, this year's homicide toll had grown to 97, up from 81 on the same date last year.

Pfleger asks if we're waiting for a child of our own to die to get involved. It's a reasonable question.


No. we are not waiting for our kids to get killed and that is a consistently stupid question from two fatuous phonies - in my humble, close-knit, ethnic opinion.

Race Baiting, Lotto Lawsuits, Weepy Headlines and absolutely no consequences for killing savages add up to Chicago's spike in homicides.

Gang- related shooting? Nope. Savagery.

Guns Kill People? Nope. Savages kill people.

Mark Brown goes straight to the lowered Kiddie net once again - Father Michael Pfleger. Mark Brown helped Father Pfleger 'change the narrative' from his unorthodox views on abortion and ordination of women to 'the pastor who really cares.' Father Pfleger boldly proclaims anything, gets huge notice, finds himself in trouble and does the 'I'm sorry change the narrative.' Fair enough, but do not use a perfume dousing on public image to parse down urban savagery. Mark Brown gets what he wants and so does Father Pfleger. We get a heaping table of sanctimonious horse shit.

Rather, Mark Brown might have asked Area 2 Homicide Detectives - but Mark Brown has burned that bridge with his smug 'Bring It On!' posing two summers ago. Yeah Mark Brown and the Chicago Sun Times helped west side thugs keep a riot going for more than a few days - with edited photos of cops under siege and Mark Brown's idiotic and inflammatory captions. Blood sells ink. Mark Brown is like an arsonist who runs to the fire house, panting , 'Hey, there's fire! Help the children!'

Chicago's black neighborhoods on the west and south sides are Thug Comfort Zones.

I work in the Gresham neighborhood, Father Pfleger's neighborhood, every day.
I have gone to too many funerals. Chicago Police Officer Eric Lee and his brother were murdered by thugs only too happy to 'ride the 9 down' on a human being -'it's all good! You gotta understand!'

The Chicago Police and the Cook County States Attorney have been marginalized by Mark Brown, Father Pfleger, G. Flint Taylor, the editorial boards of the Chicago Sun Times, The Chicago Tribune, the leftist millionaires of the MacArthur Center for Justice, Northwestern University Bluhm Center for Justice, Jon Burge Industries, The Peoples Law Office, Jon Loevy Industries, every room temperature I.Q. with a microphone and camera crew and of course the well armed savages of Chicago.

Marches, Candle light Prayers, Cease Fire Parolees pressuring Pat Quinn, Urban Translators and the clients of G. Flint Taylor still in the joint will not end the murders.

Until Mark Brown scans the archives of the last few years and has a come-to-Jesus moment - he won't - and gutless politicians grow a pair and turn on lice like G. Flint Taylor and the Marxist 501 (c) 3 industries, savages will continue to light up our lives.

This is not gang-related, drug-related, or gun-related violence this is the Thug Comfort Zone built and funded and fueled by our media, Lawsuit Lotto Lawyers, gutless or complicit politicians and saps who lap up Mark Brown's hand-wringing bullshit.

Gee, too edgy? Well, I am feeling rather savagely sarcastic at the moment. I have not ridden the 9 down on anyone.

Friday, April 16, 2010

The True Story of the Three Jacksons - Part 1.


Like all south side story tellers and fabulists, I begin not in medias res, but way the hell long after the subjects are dead and gone and have no recourse or access to lawyers - I begin.

This is no bullshit. Long before the peroxide black kid from Gary had a massive grabber after making millions of dollars and paying out millions in hush money, there was the Jackson Three*. They were accordion kings. Andrew, Joseph, and Solomon Jackson came from under the Dan Ryan expressway. Actually they were from 47th & Wentworth. They lived in back of the Yards - Canaryville.

They were raised by their Mom, Delia Murphy Jackson after their father Morris Solomon Jacobson(Jackson) a tanner for J. Ogden Armour was killed by a strikebreaker in 1898. Mo Jackson was a devout Jew, but got sick of explaining to his Mick, Hunky and Dago relatives how he had fought in the Irish Brigade in 1864 and changed his name to Jackson. Mo Jackson went to services on Saturday and the wife and kids went on Sunday to St. Gabe'.

Andy was born in 1895; Joe in 1896; and Sol in 1897 - they were Irish Triplets and Miracle Babies - Mo thought it a miracle to be three for three in three. Andy was the joy of his mother and as useless around the house as a blind cat with no claws. Joe was a mope who always groused about everything and Sol was gabby little bastard from out of the chute. The three boys played in a pile at their parent's feet when Mo and Delia had finished their dinners and Mo could stretch his long legs to absolute limits of tarsals. The rugs were clean and beaten regularly by Delia and boys rolled and undulated like cuts of prime on the Armour conveyors only a few blocks west of the frame house of the Jackson's on Wentworth.

A few days after Sol's first birthday, Mo went to a strike meeting at John Joyce's Knight's of Labor Hall at 47th and Ashland. It was pretty good stretch of the legs from Wentworth to Ashland and there were sinkholes in the street that could swallow a horse.

( next time Mo gets trimmed by a strikebreaker and dies a few months later)

*The Three Jacksons were Dutch accordion kings so my story is essentially, fundamentally, thoroughly and originally pure and unadulterated bullshit - fiction.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&u=http://www.rotterdam010.nl/3jacksons.html&ei=KJPIS5nYJIGMNouyzckI&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCMQ7gEwAg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dthree%2Bjacksons%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGIH_enUS268US331%26prmd%3Div

Manya Brachear! Meet Father Robert Sirico - Catholic and Compassionate



I read quite a bit. No brag, just fact. In a family of skilled tradesmen, I remain the bookish goof. While my brother and scores of cousins can unclip a tape measure and artfully root out any problem in seconds with an application of muscle, toggle-bolts, sheet metal cutters, dry wall knives, plumber's dope and table saws, I remain a victim. I need to call a Tradesman.

I read Shakespeare, Virgil, Kant, Dante, Petrarch, Cicero, St. Augustine, Tommy Aquinas, Spinoza, Bellow, Tolstoy and Issac Bashevas Singer. I read while John, Mike, Red Pat, Brian, Barbara, Sheila, Kevin, Glen and Larry schooled themselves in HVAC, plumbing, carpentry, electrical math and fundamental chemistry to become engineers, carpenters, electricians, and pipe-fitters.

Readers often became priests. I went to priest school in high school. I translated Latin into English and developed rudimentary communications skills, but also learned that I was no where near cut-out for celibacy and by senior year exploded onto the co-educational Catholic social scene with some modest success.

Law? Perhaps. Teaching even better. I became a high school English teacher. It was a profession back then. I could read voraciously without being impugned as a loafing dope with his schnozzola glued to a page.

This morning I sweetened my sarcasm tooth with a gooey piece from the always daffy-taffy of Manya Brachear - the Chicago Tribune's Seeker. This kid is a champ and never a disappointment. Manya Branchear takes the road-less-travelled by anyone with a lick of common sense or shred of public understanding. Manya champions the goofball Sinsinawa Dominican - a catalog of goofs those babes be - nun who escorts kids to their appointed abortions at Planned Parenthood. That is like oozing with goodwill for that thoughtful religious seeker, Jihad Jane, who found Islam and decided to murder the Danish cartoonist. "Gee, she thinks outside of box!"

So does Manya - with great regularity.

Today Manya touts a Social Justice panel to be brought on the stage at North Park University. The panel is a Progressive parade of Lakota shamans, prayer-catcher shakers, Gender shrills, Race parsers and the lead- off Korean preacher. A Rainbow of Diversity! Edgy! Check out the line-up and the topics! Meet the Magnificent Social Seven! Hey, God love them all! I am sure that each and every pillar of Progressive Thought getting a paycheck from North Park is worth every dime.

1. Richard Twiss is a member of the Sicangu Lakota/Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. He is Co Founder, with his wife Katherine, and President of Wiconi International. Richard is committed to seeing Native people emerge as a dynamic voice for justice, reconciliation and healing around the world in the spirit of Jesus. He and Katherine have been married since 1976 and have raised four respectful sons and live in Vancouver, Washington.

Richard Twiss will be speaking on “Dancing Our Prayers” at a North Park Theological Seminary student chapel and dinner at 5:00 pm in Olsson Lounge. He will also be part of a panel discussion on Saturday’s Justice Training Workshops.
2.Andrea Smith teaches at Media and Cultural Studies at UC Riverside. She is the author of Native Americans and the Christian Right: The Gendered Politics of Unlikely Alliances and is editor of The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Nonprofit Industrial Complex. She is co-founder of the Boarding School Healing Project and is US Coordinator of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians.

Andrea Smith will be presenting on the non-profit industrial complex on Wednesday, April 14th at 7:00PM in Hamming Hall.

3.Peter Goodwin Heltzel is Associate Professor of Theology, New York Theological Seminary, and an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He is the author of Jesus and Justice: Evangelicals, Race and American Politics (Yale University Press, 2009). Peter Heltzel received his B.A. from Wheaton College, his M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. from Boston University.

Peter Heltzel will be presenting on Jesus, Justice and Race on Thursday, April 15 at 9:00 am in Isaacson Chapel at North Park Theological Seminary (Nyvall Hall).

4. Dr. Mimi Haddad is president of Christians for Biblical Equality. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. She holds a Ph.D. in historical theology from the University of Durham, England. Mimi is a founding member of the Evangelicals and Gender Study Group at the Evangelical Theological Society, and she served as the convener of the Issue Group 24 for the 2004 Lausanne III Committee for World Evangelization. She has written numerous articles and has contributed to eight books, most recently as an editor and a contributing author of Global Voices on Biblical Equality: Women and Men Serving Together in the Church. Mimi is also an adjunct assistant professor at Bethel University and an adjunct professor at North Park Theological Seminary. She and her husband, Dale, live in a mixed-income, inner-city housing development committed to creating greater financial stability in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Dr. Haddad will be presenting on Justice and Gender on Thursday, April 15 at 10:45 am in Isaacson Chapel at North Park Theological Seminary (Nyvall Hall).

5. Terry LeBlanc is Mi’kmaq /Acadian, from Listuguj First Nation and Campbellton, NB, Canada. He and his wife Bev are in their 38th year of marriage. They have three adult children engaged in various areas of indigenous mission in Canada, the USA and the Philippines. He is the founding Chairman and current CEO of NAIITS (North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies) and My People International, a capacity-building and training ministry with Indigenous peoples. In his role with these two organizations, Terry speaks often on the development of cultural bridges between Aboriginal people and the majority cultures in North America and elsewhere in the world. Terry also teaches as a sessional lecturer in Intercultural Studies and Theology at several colleges, seminaries and universities and, for a number of years has been a guest lecturer/speaker at educational institutions across Canada and the United States. He is currently serving as adjunct faculty in Theology and Intercultural Studies for two seminaries. He is a PhD Candidate in Intercultural Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky.

6.Lisa Sharon Harper is a Speaker / Activist / Author / Playwright / Poet. She is the author of Evangelical Does Not Equal Republican…Or Democrat (The New Press) and is the Co-founder and Executive Director of NY Faith & Justice. NY Faith & Justice is at the hub of a new ecumenical movement in New York City to address issues of environmental injustice and violence in black and brown communities. Ms. Harper earned her master’s degree in Human Rights, with a concentration in Religion & the Media, from Columbia University in New York City. Ms. Harper is a graduate of the USC School of Theatre’s MFA Playwriting class of 1995. Her thesis play, An’ Push da Wind Down explores Ms. Harper’s own Cherokee/Chickasaw and African-American heritage. She is a featured op-ed writer for the God’s Politics blog and BeliefNet’s Progressive Revival blog.

Lisa will be responding at the Campus Justice Lecture on Thursday, April 15 with Terry LeBlanc on the topic of Environmental Justice at 7:00 pm in Hamming Hall. She will also present on the topic of Mobilizing for Environmental Justice at the Saturday Training Session.

7. Soong-Chan Rah is Milton B. Engebretson Associate Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism and the author of The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity (IVPress, 2009). Soong-Chan previously served as founding Senior Pastor of the Cambridge Community Fellowship Church, a multi-ethnic, urban, post-modern generation church in the Central Square neighborhood of Cambridge, MA. Soong-Chan currently serves on the boards of Sojourners, the Christian Community Development Association and the Catalyst Leadership Center. Soong-Chan presents content on the topics of racial reconciliation, social justice, and urban ministry at his blog.


4days4justice at North Park University is an attempt to hear from previously marginalized voices in both American society and the evangelical community.

We will have the chance to hear Native American Christians address the issue of environmental justice. (I still haven’t figured out how we ever had any serious dialogue about the environment without considering the perspective of the Native American community).

We will be involved in round table discussions (in a fishbowl style) on the topic of social justice with evangelicals from various ethnic communities. And we will offer workshops (particularly geared towards local churches) on various social justice topics during a one day training session on Saturday.

Will we answer all the questions about the role of evangelicals in the public realm.? No, but I hope that at least we’re asking the right questions.


Oooo! Ooooo! Me! Manya!
Are you soft? Christ on a Crutch! Let's look at the syllabus for the panelists and the panelists themselves Not a Moody Billy Sunday in that cavalcade of Evangelical Stars! No Babbit's in Manya's Bonnet.
No, Sir!
Gender Issues? Check!
Race Issues? Oh, Hell Yes!
Dancing to Justice? On the money! We got Acadians, Aboriginal concerns! No substance.

Social Justice begins and ends with the operation of human heart - it is charity and not policy.

Social Justice is very good. Societal manipulation is very, very bad and tends to run-in-place as opposed to move people forward.

I work social justice everyday. No brag; just fact. Dr. Jack O'Keefe ( City Colleges ret.) and Denny Conway ( CPS ret.) teach as volunteers in the kill-zone of Gresham every day, Manya. Read the Chicago Murder Boxscores.

I have a backlog of Campaign Leo and 21st Century enveleopes that I need to add to the EXCELL spread sheets - amounting to more than $ 30,000 from $50,100, 200,500, 1,000 gifts by men with White Guy Zipcodes - 60643, 60655, 60638, 60453, 60462 & etc.

That's social justice, Kiddo. No Prayer Catchers, just envelopes with dough. No strings, no plaques, no articles, no Love Offerings expected. Gifts of human heart given freely.

The Panel at North Park will be swell: Lakota incantations and prayers out of the William Least-Heat Moon catalog. When the Beaver returns to Chicago River - Once Debra Shore and the Gay Lesbian Transgender Bi-Sexual Water Reclamation District reverses the flow of the River -Only Then - will my heart soar light Hawk and wing with the Great Spirit!

Manya, if you expect to to get to the nub of social justice, read Father Robert Sirico of the Acton Institute. Thus!

The problem here is the slick move from personal ethics to public policy. What is required of us as individuals may or may not translate into a civic policy priority. In the case of the welfare state, it is possible to argue that it does great good (though I would dispute that). Whether it does or does not, however, a government program effects nothing toward fulfilling the Gospel requirement that we give of our own time and income toward assisting the poor.

The reason has to do with matters of the human heart. If we are required to do anything by law, and thereby forced by public authority to undertake some action, we comply because we must. That we go along with the demand is no great credit to our sense of humanitarianism or charity. The impulse here is essentially one of fear: we know that if we fail to give, we will find ourselves on the wrong side of the state.

Remember that the government has no money, no resources, of its own. Everything it has it must take from the private sector, which is the engine of wealth creation. If we can imagine a world in which there is no private sector at all, we can know with certainty that it would be a world of bare subsistence at best: universal impoverishment.

Wealthy societies today can afford to create large welfare states while avoiding that fate. But let us never forget the funds that make it possible do not appear as if by magic. They are taken from others without their active consent except in the most abstract sense that people might vote for them.

I cannot see how this method of redistributing wealth has anything to do with the Gospel. Jesus never called on public authority to enact welfare programs. He never demanded that his followers form a political movement to tax and spend. Nor did he say that the property of the rich must always be forcibly expropriated. He called for a change in the human heart, not a change in legislation. There is a massive difference.


You see, Manya. When a job needs to get done, I am the sic-and-fetch guy - "Paddy, go out to the truck and bring in the black box with the green handle. Don't worry about what's in it we trained with the tools and you might have read about them in Dickens - they are called adaptable bits. Black box -green handle. Don't get lost"

Father Sirico is the tradesman as far as Social Justice goes. We live social justice because we go to the right tradesman. Look for the Union Label, Manya.

http://www.northpark.edu/4days4justice