Quigley's Lunch ! Hold The Turtle!

Mike Quigley Knows what he wants; it's up to all the rest of us to figure out what it is.

We get that from following Quigley's sluggy political trail through the pages of the Chicago newspapers. The Chicago Reader is a good jumping off point because eventually the Sun Times will do a bowdlerized version of what Ben Joravsky writes and then someone will read that piece to Andy Shaw and he will go on to jaw-bone endlessly about the issue or position on WTTW until Kate Grossman gives Andy the skunk eye. Kate seems to be about the only human being capable of shutting that Walking Windpipe up. Back to the 'Man Who Would be - Something!'

( Click on my post title - Ben is helping Quigley as always - Mike Madigan is getting some from the Uriah Heep of Illinois Politics)

Here is a tale that worked it's way out here to the 19th Ward.

Mike Quigley had a taste for some soup - like he wanted to be Alderman of Helen Schiller's Ward; Cook County Sheriff; and now President of the Cook County Board; tomorrow - Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler - like Dave Orr's Patrone Hugo Chavez - sold Mayor Dave those swell ballot machines, Hugo did.

After a hard morning of trying to reach the elevator buttons in the County Building, Mike broke for lunch; piston-ed his stumpy legs to Marquette Inn on Washington Street. After about a forty five minute walk, Mike arrived hungry for some soup - he needed meat - he was sure of it - Turtle soup!

Commissioner Quigley ordered up - 'I'll have a big bowl of Turtle soup!'

Waitress Marnina - 'You sure honey! Abderos! Big Turtle Soup for the Commish!'

Mike opened and read the Sun Times - The Independent - Progressive Conscience of the City! ( Jesus, that kills me every time I say it)and all of the nice things Mark Brown and Cheryl Reed had to say about him. It dawned on Mike Quigley - 'The Voters! The Citizens! Pea! I want Pea Soup!'

Before Marnina brought the huge steamy bowl of Turtle soup to Quigley's table, the Commissioner ( with the Taxpayers in mind) shouted - 'No Pea - I want Pea Soup!'

The waitress who had long served the quicksilver changeling Commissioner, in turn, shouted to Abderos!

'Abderos! Hold the Turtle and Make it Pea!'

Kate Grossman - slowly explain this one to Andy before he tells it to Joel Weisman.

McCain Fields a Full Slate of Delegates - Thanks to Rep. Jim Durkin

I missed the Debates on Wednesday, but had them taped. St. Cajetan Volleyball opened with a win over St. Bede's in 7th Grade Girls Worth Township League. Then I watched the taped debate and John McCain was the only one who even appeared Presidential - direct, mission-oriented and forthright.

Yesterday, Illinois Team McCain behind the hard-work and good humor of Il. Rep. James Durkin (R) filed a full slate of delagtes for John McCain - only the Romney Campaign managed to do so. Giuliani has yet to file. Click title post above for the Tribune story


Illinois should back McCain. Take a look at the cross- section of the State in suport of the only candidate who can lead America in time of Islamist Terror.

John McCain will define the debate for America. He is already doing just that and Illinois is responding.


Well done to Jim Durkin and especially Julie and Pat Brady for their 11th hour work in meeting the dealine!




Subject: MCCAIN PRESS RELEASE: Representative Jim Durkin To File John McCain 2008 Illinois Ballot Petitions






REPRESENTATIVE JIM DURKIN TO FILE JOHN MCCAIN 2008 ILLINOIS BALLOT PETITIONS

For Immediate Release
Contact: Press Office

Wednesday, November 28, 2007
703-650-5550


ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign announced that Illinois State Representative Jim Durkin will file John McCain's ballot petitions for the state of Illinois at 8:00 a.m. CST today at the state board of elections.

John McCain 2008 also announces the endorsement of Robert D. Stuart. Ambassador Stuart is former Ambassador to Norway and former Illinois Republican National Committeeman. In addition, the campaign is proud to have the support of Ms. Julie Brady, who will now serve as Deputy Co-Chair of our IL team. Ms. Brady is a former Department of Justice prosecutor.

"Today, I am pleased file on behalf of John McCain. I am proud to have led a grassroots team of men and women who took time away from their families to show their support for John McCain because they believe deeply in his reform message. In 2000 I filed on John's behalf; I believed then, as I believe now, that there is no finer man running for president and no better candidate to win in the general election against the Democratic nominee."

Ambassador Stuart added, "John McCain's lifetime of service and sacrifice has prepared him to lead our nation from the first day he takes office. He is the only candidate that can maintain the principles of the Republican Party and unite all the Republicans to beat the Democratic nominee in the general election."

The following elected officials and delegates support John McCain in the state of Illinois:

ILLINOIS LEADERSHIP TEAM

U.S. Congressmen
Rep. Mark Kirk
Rep. Ray LaHood
Rep. Peter Roskam
Rep. John Shimkus

Former U.S. Senator
Sen. Peter Fitzgerald

State Senators
Sen. Dan Cronin
Sen. Kirk Dillard
Sen. John Jones
Sen. Dave Luechtefeld
Sen. John Millner
Sen. Dale Risinger
Sen. Frank Watson

State Representatives
Rep. Dan Brady
Rep. Jim Durkin
Rep. Mike Fortner
Rep. Sid Mathias
Rep. Mike McAuliffe
Rep. Jim Meyer
Rep. Rosemary Mulligan
Rep. JoAnn Osmond
Rep. Raymond Poe
Rep. Randy Ramey
Rep. Jim Sacia
Rep. Jil Tracy
Rep. Jim Watson

Republican National Committeewoman Mary Jo Arndt
Major General John Borling, USAF (Ret).
Ms. Julie Brady
Former Ambassador and Former Illinois Republican National Committeeman Robert D. Stuart
Former Ambassador and Former Illinois Republican Party Chair Rich Williamson

ILLINOIS DELEGATES

Gregg Abbott
Helen Albert
Mike Amrozowicz
Mayor Jim Ardis
John Atchley
Kirby Ballard
Joe Bartolomucci
Tony Becker
Harry Bond
Maj. Gen. John Borling
Scott Boukal
Rep. Daniel P. Brady
Julie Brady
Kevin Brady
Mary Jane Brady
Will Callard
Dean A. Casper, Jr.
Mayor Thomas Tolbert Chisum
Vincent P. C hurak
Robert Cook
Michael Corrigan
James L. Coxworth
Sen. Dan Cronin
Larry DeYoung
Sen. Kirk Dillard
Richard E. Diller
Mary Pat Dixon
William Durkin
Rep. Jim Durkin
Barbara Dwyer
Deb Detmers Fansler
Bobby Vaughan Ferguson
Joann Finger
John Fogarty, Jr.
Rep. Mike Fortner
Jim Fuchs
Susan Gere
Kimberly Pate Godden
Gustavo Gonzalez
Joyce Gooding
Thomas Gooding
William S. Graham
Kent Gray
Mike Hagerty
Donald B. Hall
J. Sue Hamilton
John Harty
Thomas Hayes
Sean Healy
William L. Henniger
Herbert Hentschel
Roy Hertel
Nora Kathleen Hickey
Stephanie Hitt
Damon Hofstrand
Mark Hosty
Robert Hudon
Bill Jackl in
David A. Kelm
Virginia Kenney
Pam Kinsey
U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood
Nadja Lalvani
Prem Lalvani
Pastor Ceasar LeFlore
Stephen Liehr
Cindy Limbach
Andrew Loveday
Alex Martella
Rilio Mastrantonio
Rep. Sidney Mathias
Karen Matjasko
Matthew Mau
John McCrory
Tom McRae
Margaret McSweeney
Ann Melichar
Rep. James Meyer
Mary Jo Mikottis
Jack Murphy
Tim O'Neill
Rep. Joann Osmond
Ray Pawlak
Nick Peric
Rep. Raymond Poe
Dennis Presley
William Read
Nate Rice
James A. Riemer, Jr.
Wayne Rosenthal
Carlos Saucedo
Lisa Schumacher
John Scully
William G. Shepherd
Det. Larry Shepherd
U.S. Rep. John M. Shimkus
Karen Slattery
Michael Sneed
Jason Speer
David Stanton
Nina Stephenson
Eugene Syring
Steven Tomaszewski
Mayor Bruce Tossell
Rep. Jil Tracy
Mayor Henry Vicenik
Charlie Watts
Becky Weber
Mary A. Welling
Ambassador Rich Williamson
Alderman Elmo R. Younger, Veteran of WWII

Mike Quigley - He's Under the Radar and Everything Else

Mike Quigley studied in Israel ( That's Mike - Right in the middle sporting the Maroon Jumper). There he learned from experts on how to rid the Cook County Forest Preserves of waste - 'Behind us, Commissioner Quigley is the Sahara Forrest.'

Quigley - 'But, Yev, that's a desert!'

Yev - 'Now.'


Big Headlines often eclipse the little men who help make them. Mike Quigley - Cook County Commissioner has been behind - or under most the big ones dealing with Cook County government for years.

The Headlines and banners tout the machinations and the cascades of misspeaks by Bill Beavers and the inner-Party brawlings of Liz Gorman and Tony Peraica with photo ops by Forrest Claypool, looking determinedly befuddled - heck, Forrest, you play with Mike Quigley and you get that way.

Quigley ditched you for Todd Stroger - that's gotta hurt.

But Quigley gets a pass. He noodles an area of the City with high purchasing power and higher transciency. Quigley needs votes. People get to know Quigley, mercifully, move off to New York and L.A. and are replaced by new waves of earnest Yuppies.

The Media gets worked by Quigley like a kid from Puebla with a Local 150 Operators card. He's on 24/7.

He has pal columnists who never peek into his runnings and goings, much less his past. Quigley plays the University Think Tankers like Earl Scruggs on a G-Tuned 5-string Gibson!

As a reader of the news, why not give Mike Quigley an occasional tickle every now and then - like gave to John Stroger, John Daley, Helen Schiller,Michael Sheahan and any one else who was a few rungs up the ladder from his little mitts and toes.

Mike Quigley wants to be Cook County Board President by 2010. Click on my post title for the always prescient Russ Stewart's study of the Cook County States Attorney Race from back in June.

If someone, anyone, in Cook County Government, heck any government, or if you are an eight year old blind kid with the last $100,000 Candy Bar from the White Hen display, chances are Mike Quigley is chumming the guts in the waters around you - 'Sharks! Get To Swimming, Yoostis!'

In the mean time - allow me to entertain you with a tale from my Quigley files:

Mike Quigley and the Blonde

Cook County Commissioner Quigley and a blonde are sitting next to each other at the bar. The Uriah Heep of Illinois Politics leans over to her and asks if she would like to play a fun game. The blonde, drunk and dozing, just wants to take a nap, so she politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks.
Quigley persists and explains that the game is really easy and a lot of fun. He explains: "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5, and visa-versa."
Again, she politely declines and tries to get some sleep.
Mike Quigley, now somewhat agitated, says, "Okay, if you don't know the answer you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $50" figuring that since she is a blonde that he will easily win the match.
This catches the blonde's attention and, figuring that there will be no end to this torment unless she plays, she agrees to the game.
Quigley asks the first question: "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?"
The blonde doesn't say a word, reaches into her purse, pulls out a five-dollar bill and hands it to the lawyer.
Now, it's the blonde's turn. She asks the Reformer Manque: "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?"
Quigley looks at her with a puzzled look.
He takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references. He taps into the digital cell phone via infra-red wireless connection to his modem port and searches the Net and the Library of Congress. Frustrated, he sends E-mail to all Sun Times Editorial Board Members, Ben Jovarsky who feeds Quigley ideas, and Mark Brown, whom Quigley then feeds, friends, clients, and victims that he knows. And then some. All to no avail. After over an hour, he wakes the blonde and hands her $50. The blonde politely takes the $50 and turns away to get back to sleep.
Mike Quigley, who is more than a little miffed, wakes the blonde and asks, "Well, so what IS the answer?"
Without a word, the blonde reaches into her purse, hands the Little Giant $5, and goes back to sleep.

Columnist is Thankful for John McCain!

Wayne Woodlief of the Boston Globe is most thankful for Senator John McCain - so is French President Nick Sarkozy; so are our Troops; so are Americans searching for hope in a true leader; so am I.

John McCain knows how to connect with Americans - simple and direct honesty. Take a look at the genuine delight in the Boy Scout's face in speaking with a person who genuinely 'is glad to meet' him. You can not fake it and get away with for long - Illinois' Honest Abe knew that.

Hillary - keep the day job! Rudy - back to the resume. Fred - the writers strike can't last forever. Dennis - . . .Dennis? Close Encounter. They are probably coming back for Ron Paul as well.

Thank God for an honest man - John McCain

McCain Tops List Of Thankworthy

By Wayne Woodlief, Boston Herald
November 22, 2007

Today's the day again to thank all the pols and pundits who've made me think anew or laugh or sometimes shout. Some have been outrageous, some have been straight arrows, but none that I'm grateful for has been dull.

I'm most thankful for Sen. John McCain, the one candidate for president who stands up for what he believes and says it plain, regardless of the political cost.

He's ardently backed the troop surge in Iraq (losing some independent support along the way) even as he rebuked President Bush for not sending in more troops when the war first began, as McCain had advocated.

He stuck by the doomed immigration bill he co-authored with Sen. Edward Kennedy, though it cost him deeply among the conservative and important Republican Iowa caucus electorate. Yet that compromise bill was the closest we've come - or may come - to a solution that would both secure our national borders and open a path toward citizenship for illegal immigrants. For all the screaming and degradation of McCain by the hard-righters, why haven't they found an answer?

The Arizonan has bucked the president on torture and on those so-called "signing statements" by which Bush asserts he can disobey whatever parts of bills passed by Congress that he chooses, without vetoing them.

He has heart and fortitude. McCain was given up for dead a few months ago when his presidential campaign had overspent and was in disarray. Yet he is rising again as he focuses on the New Hampshire primary, where an upset of Mitt Romney would catapult McCain forward. Already, he has passed Fred Thompson, is edging by Rudy Giuliani for second place and has Romney in his sights in the Granite State.

In the latest Fox News poll, voters nationally also rate McCain as the Republicans' best hope against Hillary Clinton. In trial heats, Clinton beats Giuliani by 4 percentage points, Thompson by 9 and Romney by 13. But she and McCain are in a virtual tie, with the former first lady at 46 percent and McCain at 45 percent.

So keep telling it straight, brother McCain. You could win this thing yet. And even if you lose, you'll feel better about yourself.

'Rats!!!!!! To The Holes!' Shine a Light on Jesse Jackson

"Rats run in holes when lights come on. The City Council can expose the lenders," Jackson said.

Hey Kids! What's brownish grey; has more tale than tail, squeezes into cracks for nibbles and bolts out, quicker than a fat man eats his lunch; spreads fear, mistrust, and misery wherever he goes; is considered a major pest; loved only by his family, but they'd eat him given the opportunity and flourishes in big cities where foolish people think he's cute and edgy but do not pay careful attention to his purposes?

Yep. Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. Now, the man is after shaking down mortgage companies - BEST BELIEVE THAT JUNIOR!

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/668174,CST-NWS-jesse27.article
The Progressive - Independent Conscience of the City which pays for a Jesse Jackson column weekly is giving The Big Cheese eater's latest jackpot quest some help and he'll have their full support! Dick Simpson will weigh in; Frannie Spielman is being pulled off of real news ( poor Shanghaied talent); and the usual band of brothers will noodle and gravy Jesse's venture despite the fact that Jesse L. Jackson pulled the plug on an Illinois Program that combated predatory mortgage lenders - Jesse went to bat for those companies:

The program, Illinois Predatory Lending Database, went into effect last September. It was designed to collect information about lenders and was also supposed to ensure that borrowers with bad credit were counseled by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) before receiving loans (American Banker April 4).
However, the program's critics insist that the requirements made it even harder for low-income individuals to get loans and created delays.
Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. has said the program's requirements made it more difficult for low-income individuals to refinance or sell their properties.

A credit counselling that would have prevented defaults on loans was strangled in the cradle by the biggest rodent in the alley.


Hey this stuff's in the papers - better than Seinfeld reruns

As always - click on auld post title for the story from last April when Jesse was not so bothered by defaults.

CNN Debate Wednesday Night - McCain says,'I will win!'

Just back from Thanksgiving with our service men and women in Iraq, the man best suited to lead America in time of war with Islamist Terror, Senator John McCain, is up beat. With good reason. People are listening to his message.

This past weekend, I helped Illinois McCain Chairman James Durkin grab up signatures of voters who like what John McCain is all about - proven leadership and straight talk.

Should be a great showing for the President . . . sorry - Senator McCain.

Spike O'Donnell and Buck Weaver from The Chorito Hog Leg

Spike was embroiled in a court battle with one of the Boy
Scout contractors who ‘The O’Donnell’ had helped secure
a City contract to re-pave Ashland Avenue from 71st to 95th
Streets – about $ 200,000 net for the mealy-mouthed slob.
Spike had contacted all of the right boys from the anchor to
the top-mast of Public Works Administration and the final
sign off by Mayor Ed Kelly himself. Now the crumb welched
on consultant’s fee and went crying to the Cook County States
Attorney that Spike was shaking him down. But, hey, only
suckers beef. The Treasurer would help Spike brown the sugar
from this lump of blubber.
Joanie Cullen always talked to Spike when the Biddies and
the High hats avoided his gaze and immediate touch like Spike
was a leper. ‘Good morning Mister O’Donnell, Sister Malachy
said to say hello to you when I saw you this morning and I told
Sister that I you never missed Mass.’
O’Donnell was delighted by this skinny little chit in her veil
and with rosary beads twined around her mitt like a knuckleduster.
Joanie Cullen had eyes the size of the hub-caps on
O’Donnell’s Chrysler parked at the steps of St. Sabina’s. Father
Gorey was taking his own good time in getting down from the
sacristy in the hopes that Spike would disappear; Spike liked to
hang around just to tease the new guy taking Monsignor Egan’s
place.
‘What’d ‘Chin-Whiskers’ have to say for herself, Joanie? She
looking to take a few inches off my wallet for you fine young
woman over at old Mercy High? That crone scares me back
into Church, Honey. What’d she want any way?’
Joanie loved the gangster, like one her uncles. O’Donnell
had been shot in the back the previous March when all the
asphalt contracting hoopla had made it into the newspapers
and became an issue in Mayor Kelly’s re-election campaign
– the greater issue was whether or not Spike would live, but the
natural born tough guy recovered after a few weeks in Little
Company of Mary Hospital and his standard walks around the neighborhood. Joanie – and everyone else in Chicago – had heard
of his reputation as a bad man, but knew that tough dapper daily
communicant who was so devoted to his wife, children, brothers
and neighbors that he put out the glad hand and offer of help
to anyone he met. He was as funny as Mr. Duffy the political
boss and more at ease than Buck Weaver, the disgraced third baseman
from the Black Sox days who lived in a nice house
over in Little Flower parish on Winchester Street. Those three
men sat out in front of Hanley’s House of Happiness and played
pinochle almost every day or in front of the electrical appliance
store near the White Castle hamburger stand at 79th & Loomis.
Buck Weaver had a job as the Vice President of Standard State
Bank – the safest Bank in Chicago – because Spike banked
there – and had devoted most of his life to restoring his good
name in baseball. Buck Weaver had known that his teammates
were taking Arnold Rothstein’s payoffs but refused to be a rat
and that was the only reason that Kennesaw Mountain Landis
banned Buck Weaver from Baseball for life. All the others,
Shoeless Joe, Ciccote and the rest had snatched up the bribe and
thrown the World Series – only Buck was pure.
Joanie Cullen added, ‘Tim said hello to you too Mr.
O’Donnell and asked how you were recovering. I’ll bring the
letter tomorrow and show you where he says so. He’s training
for another battle I guess and says that he is working with two
nice boys, one an Italian kid from Ohio and the other a hillbilly
from West Virginia. Tim said the Dago is a great singer and is
with an orchestra around Cleveland, but works for Desoto and
the hillbilly got his first pair of shoes in the Marines and had
never been more than two miles from coal mines in his life. Tim
says that he is a real sweet guy and the ugliest person he ever
met and that includes Myron Muchinfuch, the usher at Notre
Dame Games.’
‘Uglier than Myron, come on that’s Orson Welles stuff.
Where is Tim, somewhere in the South Pacific again? Did he
say where?’‘Mr. O’Donnell, Tim says nothing accept that he wants
Mary Janes and Bullseyes from Morganelli’s and he always asks
about everyone else. Never know he’s in a war, if it weren’t for
the V-Mail. Al, Jack and Martin talk about the War all the
time and Al is up in Fort Sheridan – he’s a cop, like Father was,
an M.P. and keeps deserters in line.’
‘Al, always had the right makings for the Chicago Police
Department, unlike your Father who is too honest a man and a
Union man to boot. When all of the rest of those apple robbing
Micks in blue wool had no problem shooting at working men,
your father, Joanie, had the steel to tell that louse Capt. Connelly
to take a leap. That’s why you old man ain’t a cop any more. Too
honest. Al will be a Captain with his own bagman someday.
Joanie, here’s a fin – load up on MaryJanes and Bullseyes for
that brother of yours – best man with bag of tools I ever met
in my life. Tell him I did a few laps around the rosary for him.
Give my best to your mother and tell that Bog-man Father of
yours that he had better keep his ‘LOIGHTS OUT-ing’ away
from 82nd and Loomis if he wants to keep healthy and keep it
on Bishop with the other bog-trotters like himself.’
Joanie laughed like she meant it and had no school-girl giggle
which delighted the retired hoodlum more and she pocketed the
five-spot for a trip to Morganelli’s candy store on Ashland Ave.
later that day.

Danny and the Tigers - Moonman Dan Races Like Jackie Stewart to Miss Potholes and Snakes

Here's Danny K. Davis breaking spring rolls with the Tamil Tigers - another pothole and snake in the road weaved away from by the Progressive.

This Thanksgiving, Danny K. Davis treated the Media to another heaping helping of police bashing stuffing, when he was ticketed for driving like an Englshman in Chicago and charged that the two officers invloved picked him, a black man, out of hundreds of other black motorists because he is black. Now -That's giblets!

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, who is black, said he will go to traffic court to challenge the $75 ticket given to him early Monday by two white officers.

"I'm not one of these people who cry racism," Davis told The Associated Press on Friday. "I'm a person who believes in hard work and follows the rules."

Davis, 66, said he was on his way home from co-hosting his Sunday late-night radio talk show, "Talking to the People," and was driving with three black passengers when he was stopped.

"I know that I had not weaved. I mean, I'm not senile," he told the Chicago Tribune. "Had I weaved, I would have said 'I thought I saw a pothole,' or a snake, or something."

http://www.charlotte.com/nation/story/375317.html


Again - I had to highlight that passage of American Political Rhetoric - one quote that will be on the little tongues of every school kid in America someday - unless Danny's Pals the Tamil Tigers get to them first.


If you kids liked Moonman Dan's English Driving School Story this week, let's thumb back for a great lttle tale called Danny and the Tigers.

If you kids think Danny's Dad Rev. Sun Myong Moon is shady gent, take a glance at Danny's pals.

Danny likes underdogs, like the Tamil Tigers of Sri Laanka. Click my title post for Danny K. Davis' recent junket and chat with his underdogs. Let's try to remember Danny K. Davis as he slow-talks his way out of the moving violation:

Now, - This is a long excerpt but it is WOW reading!

Human rights and terrorism issues
Main articles: List of terrorist attacks attributed to the LTTE and Notable attacks attributed to the LTTE
The LTTE is labeled as a terrorist organization as part of a broader allegation that it does not have respect for human rights and that it does not adhere to the standards of conduct expected of a resistance movement or what might be called "freedom fighters".[citation needed] The accusation of terrorism is based in part on claims that the LTTE kills innocent civilians, recruits child soldiers, has been responsible for assassination of political figures and non-military officials, and extensively uses suicide bombers.


[edit] Attacks on civilians
Main article: List of terrorist attacks attributed to the LTTE
The LTTE has attacked non-military targets including commuter trains and buses, farming villages, temples and mosques resulting in large numbers of civilian deaths.

Some of the major attacks resulting in dozens of civilian deaths include the Kebithigollewa massacre, the Gonagala massacre (54 dead), the Anuradhapura massacre (146 dead), the Dehiwala train bombing (56 dead),[67] the Palliyagodella massacre (166 dead) and the bombing of Sri Lanka's Central Bank (102 dead). The LTTE claims that its attacks on purely civilian targets are collateral damage.

Even after the signing of the Ceasefire agreement in 2002, the LTTE has continued to carry out attacks against civilians. They murdered 6 Sinhalese farmers on April 23, 2006 and killed a further 13 laborers on May 30.[68] In one of the deadliest attacks against civilians, a claymore antipersonnel mine attack by the LTTE on June 15, 2006 on a bus carrying 140 civilians killed 68 people including 15 children, and injured 60 others.[69]

On August 14, 2006, a convoy carrying the Pakistani High Commissioner Bashir Wali Mohamed, was attacked by Claymore type directional mine concealed within a rickshaw, killing seven people and injuring seventeen. The high commissioner escaped unharmed. The Sri Lankan Government blamed the LTTE.[70][71]. However, the High Commissioner Bashir Wali Mohamed himself claimed that this was the work of the Research and Analysis Wing of India[72].

See also: Kebithigollewa massacre

[edit] Assassinations
Main article: Assassinations attributed to the LTTE
The LTTE has long been accused of carrying assassinations of political rivals and opponents. These include:

Alfred Duraiyappah, mayor of Jaffna in the attack that brought them to prominence in 1975
Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India in 1991
Ranjan Wijeratne, Sri Lankan cabinet minister and former general
Lalith Athulathmudali, Sri Lankan cabinet minister
Ranasinghe Premadasa, President of Sri Lanka
Gamini Dissanayake, Sri Lankan presidential candidate
Major Gen. Parami Kulatunga, third-highest ranking officer in the Sri Lankan Army
Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan foreign minister, lawyer and international humanitarian.[73]
Indian courts have issued international warrants to arrest both Velupillai Prabhakaran[74] and its intelligence chief Pottu Amman[75] in connection with the killing of Rajiv Gandhi.[76] The LTTE at first denied any involvement, but later issued a statement in June 2006 acknowledging it and calling the event a "monumental tragedy."[77]

The LTTE has also been accused of killing moderate Tamils and other Tamils with whom it disagrees, such as:

Appapillai Amirthalingam, leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF)[78]
Vettivelu Yogeswaran, TULF politician
Sarojini Yogeswaran, mayor of Jaffna
Pon Sivapalan, mayor of Jaffna
Neelan Thiruchelvam, academic and TULF politician
Kethesh Loganathan, political activist and second chief of Sri Lanka Peace Secretariat
Selliah Parameswaran Kurukkal a Hindu priest that blessed Mahinda Rajapakse
The LTTE has vehemently denied involvement in several of these incidents. Others argue these are tit-for-tat killings conducted by partisans of both sides of the conflict. The LTTE argues the Sri Lankan government and government-aided Tamil paramilitaries have also targeted high-profile supporters of the LTTE.

LTTE supporters justify some of the targeted assassinations by arguing that the people attacked were combatants or persons closely associated with Sri Lankan military intelligence. Specifically in relation to the TELO, the LTTE has said that it had to perform preemptive self-defence because the TELO was in effect functioning as a proxy for India. They also draw comparisons between the casualties caused by the LTTE's actions and the actions of European resistance forces against Nazi occupation during the Second World War. However, the LTTE's alleged victims have included unarmed Tamil politicians and civilian moderates who sought a peaceful solution to the Sri Lankan crisis.[79]


[edit] Child soldiers
Main article: Military use of children in Sri Lanka
The LTTE's use of children as front-line troops was proved when 25 front-line troops between the ages of 13 and 17 surrendered en masse to the Sri Lankan Forces.[80][81][82] Amid international pressure, LTTE announced in July 2003 that it would stop conscripting child soldiers, but both UNICEF[83][84] and Human Rights Watch[85] have accused it of reneging on its promises, and of conscripting Tamil children orphaned by the tsunami.[86] Civilians have also complained that the LTTE is continuing to abduct children, including some in their early teens, for use as soldiers.[87] Moreover UNICEF states that the LTTE has recruited 315 child soldiers between April and December 2006. According to UNICEF, the total number of child soldiers recruited by the LTTE since 2001 stands at 5,794.[88][89]
The LTTE, however, strongly denies any responsibility for recruitment of child soldiers. It argues that instances of child recruitment occurred mostly in the east, under the purview of former LTTE regional commander Colonel Karuna. After leaving the LTTE and forming the TMVP, it is alleged Karuna continues to forcibly kidnap and induct child soldiers.[90] Its official position is that earlier, some of its cadres erroneously recruited volunteers in their late teens. It says that its official policy is now that it will not accept child soldiers. It also says that some underage youth lie about their age and are therefore allowed to join, but are sent back home to their parents as soon as they are discovered to be underage.


[edit] Suicide bombing
The LTTE has frequently used suicide bombers as a tactic. They pioneered the use of concealed suicide bomb vests,[57] which are now used by many other organizations worldwide. The tactic of deploying suicide bombers was used to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi, who was killed in 1991 using a prototype suicide vest, and Ranasinghe Premadasa, assassinated in 1993.[91]

According to Jane's Information Group, between 1980 and 2000 LTTE had carried out a total of 168 suicide attacks on civilians and military targets. The number of suicide attacks easily exceeded the combined total of Hezbollah and Hamas suicide attacks carried out during the same period.[91]


[edit] Ethnic cleansing
Main articles: Expulsion of Muslims from Jaffna and List of terrorist attacks attributed to the LTTE
The LTTE has been blamed for forcibly removing (or "ethnically cleansing" [citation needed]) Sinhalese and Muslim inhabitants from areas under its control, including the use of violence against those who refuse to leave. Most notably, the LTTE forcibly expelled the entire Muslim population of Jaffna with two hours notice in 1990.[92] The LTTE are also accused of organising massacres of Sinhala villagers who settled in the Northeast under the dry lands policy.[93][94][95]

The LTTE has apologized for the expulsion of Muslims and has blamed this event on the misconduct of one of its regional commanders. However these expulsions had taken place in Jaffna where the supreme leadership of the LTTE was based. It is therefore unlikely that these expulsions were planned at a local level. Furthermore no punitive action was taken against those who expelled the Muslims from Jaffna. The LTTE has taken the added step of encouraging Muslim civilians to return their homes and livelihoods and providing compensation. However very few Muslims have accepted this offer.

The LTTE feels the expulsion of Sinhalese civilian from the North East of Sri Lanka is a necessary step to safeguard the rights of the Tamil minority.[citation needed] The LTTE alleges that most of the North East lands were originally owned by Tamils, who were forcibly evicted to make way for government-aided Sinhala colonization schemes. These schemes, they argue were created with the sole intent of making Tamil civilians a minority in their traditional homelands and hence a means to further deprive them of their rights under the present district-based unitary political system.[citation needed] However, Muslims and Sinhalese have formed over half of the population of the East province throughout recent history. Furthermore, the existence of archaeological evidence shows that the Sinhalese have inhabited both the Eastern Province and the Northern Province for over two thousand years. In fact, most of the place names in the north and east of Sri Lanka are of Sinhalese origin. Scholars acknowledge the existence of a Tamil kingdom in Jaffna for about 300 years from around 1200-1500 CE, but there is no evidence of a Tamil kingdom in the Eastern province. Therefore, the basis for the LTTE's claim of the Eastern province as a traditional homeland of the Tamils remains contentious.[96]

See also: Gonagala massacre

[edit] Execution of POWs
The LTTE have executed prisoners of war in spite of a declaration by the LTTE in 1988 that it would abide by the Geneva Conventions.[97] Notably, the LTTE massacred most of the 400 to 600 police officers captured after their surrender to the LTTE in 1990.[98][99][100] The LTTE also executed 200 Sri Lankan soldiers captured during an attack on the Pooneryn army camp,[100] and hundreds of soldiers who had surrendered during the attack on the Mullaitivu army camp.[101][102]

See also: Massacre of police officers in Eastern Sri Lanka in June 1990

[edit] Allegation of Extortion
Some people alleged that a group claiming to be "fund raisers for the LTTE" forced the Tamil expatriates to give them money.[103] The group threatening the safety of their relatives or property in areas of Sri Lanka. This involves pressuring the people to directly give the group money, or to indirectly fund its activities by patronizing businesses connected with it (La 2004)[citation needed]. Although intelligence services have raised concerns about such activities, which are particularly controversial in Canada, few formal complaints have been made. During raids by the RCMP, the World Tamil Movement (alleged of funding the LTTE) was found coordinating a number of illegal activities in order to control the Tamil diaspora in Canada.[104] A report by Human Rights Watch outlines the intimidation and extortion Tamil expatriates experience from the LTTE.[105]


[edit] Proscription as a terrorist group
At least 32 countries have listed the LTTE as a terrorist organisation.[106][107][108] As of May 2007, these include:

India (since 1992)
The United States of America (since 1997)[109]
Malaysia[110]
The United Kingdom (since 2000)[111]
The European Union (since 2006; representing 27 countries)
Canada (since 2006)[112]
The UN has also passed Resolution 1373, asking member countries to identify and limit activities of any organization that carries out terrorist activities. The UN has not published its own list of terrorist groups, and has left their identification to the discretion of member countries. Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also suggested that the LTTE should face travel curbs and other penalties if they keep using children as soldiers. In a 2006 report to the Security Council, Annan also recommended other sanctions such as arms embargoes and financial restrictions against the LTTE.[113] Australia[114] and other countries have listed the LTTE as a terrorist group in accordance with Resolution 1373. Canada does not grant residency to LTTE members on the grounds that they have participated in crimes against humanity.[115]

The first country to ban the LTTE was its early ally, India. The Indian change of policy came gradually, starting with the IPKF-LTTE conflict, and culminating with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Sri Lanka itself lifted the ban on the LTTE before signing the ceasefire agreement in 2002. This was a prerequisite set by the LTTE for signing of the agreement.[116]


[edit] Criminal activities
One factor that has benefited the LTTE greatly has been its sophisticated international support network. While some of the funding obtained by the LTTE is from legitimate fund raising and extortion among the Tamil diaspora,[117][118][119][120][121][122] a significant portion is obtained through criminal activities, involving sea piracy, human smuggling, drug trafficking and gunrunning.[123][124][125]


[edit] Sea piracy
The LTTE are reported to hijack ships and boats of all sizes, and it is common practice for them to kidnap and kill the crew members on board the hijacked vessels.[126]

The LTTE has been accused of hijacking several vessels in waters outside Sri Lanka including the Irish Mona (in August 1995), Princess Wave (in August 1996), Athena (in May 1997), Misen (in July 1997), Morong Bong (in July 1997), MV Cordiality (in Sept 1997) and Princess Kash (in August 1998). When the LTTE captured the MV Cordiality near the port of Trincomalee, they killed all five Chinese crew members on board. The MV Sik Yang, a 2,818-ton Malaysian-flag cargo ship which sailed from Tuticorin, India on May 25, 1999 was reported missing in waters near Sri Lanka. The ship with a cargo of bagged salt was due at the Malaysian port of Malacca on May 31. The fate of the ship's crew of 15 is unknown. It is suspected that the vessel was hijacked by the LTTE and is now been used as a phantom vessel. A report published on June 30, 1999 confirmed that the vessel had been hijacked by the LTTE.[126]


[edit] MV Farah III incident
In a notable incident since the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement in 2001, the crew of a Jordanian ship, MV Farah III that ran aground near rebel-controlled territory off the island's coast, accused the Tamil Tigers of forcing them to abandon the vessel which was carrying 14,000 tonnes of Indian rice and risking their lives.[127] The crew said that LTTE fired four times to force them out of the vessel after failing to explode it in choppy seas three days after. The skipper of the vessel said;

"First they tried to set up a bomb and explode the anchor cable and when it failed they ordered us to weigh anchor"

He also said that the Tigers dismantled and removed all radio communication equipment and radar from the vessel.[127] On May 1, 2007 Sayed Sulaiman, the chairman of the ship's owners, Salam International Trading Company gave an interview to the BBC Tamil service, saying,

"We hear from the parties who are concerned with the ship, the insurance company etc., that ... everything that could be taken – like the rice, lights, generators – has been taken from the ship. The ship is now bare." [128]


On October 16, 2007 the New York Daily News reported the arrest of members of the LTTE in a massive plot to loot ATMs in New York City.
[edit] Pilferage of tsunami donations
In May 2007, two Tamils were arrested in Australia. They were charged for raising thousands of dollars in Australia under the pretense of being for charities and aid for those affected by the 2004 Asian Tsunami, which killed 35,000 people in Sri Lanka, but instead using the money to fund the LTTE.[129] Australian Federal Police conducted raids across Melbourne and Sydney and charged the two men with "being members of a terrorist group, financing terrorism and providing material support for terrorism".[129] The Australian Federal Police alleged that the men have provided significant funds as well as electronic and marine equipment to the Tamil Tigers since July 2002. Commenting on the possibility of the LTTE engaging in other similar incidents, Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said "We are concerned that that sort of thing is taking place in Australia, that Australian citizens are being duped into making contributions to what they believe to be honest fundraising activities in terms of relief for people in distress."[129].


[edit] Human smuggling
The Mackenzie Institute alleged that most of the smuggling of Tamil people to Western countries is done under the permission of the LTTE. However, there is no proof that LTTE benefit from this. It further alleged that the people who are leaving Sri Lanka from Tamil Tigers controlled areas pay a few hundred dollars as a forced contribution to the LTTE. In addition to this, people with special skills or a greater wealth than ordinary Tamils may have to pay thousands of dollars to be entitled to leave.[130]


[edit] Arms smuggling
Another one of LTTE's most secretive International operations is the smuggling of weapons, explosives, and "dual use" technologies to keep up with the military operations. The part of the LTTE responsible for these activities is given the nickname "KP Branch", taking the initials of its highest level operative, Kumaran Padmanathan (KP). The workers for the KP Branch are outsiders from the fighting wing of the LTTE, since the identities of the those fighters are recorded and available to law enforcement and counter-intelligence agencies by India's RAW, who had helped train many Tiger cadres in the early 1980s. The KP Branch operates extremely secretively by having the minimum connection possible with the LTTE's other sections for further security. It finally hands over the arms shipments to a highly trusted team of the sea Tigers to deliver them to the LTTE dominated areas.[130]

In order to carryout the activities of International arms trafficking, the LTTE operates it own fleet of ocean-going vessels. These vessels only operate a certain period of time for the LTTE and in the remaining time they transport legitimate goods and raise hard cash for the purchase of weapons. The LTTE initially operated a shipping base in Myanmar, but they were forced to leave due to diplomatic pressure. To overcome the loss of this, a new base has been set up on Phuket Island, in Thailand.[130]

However, the most expertly carried out operation of the KP Branch was the theft of 32,400 rounds of 81mm mortar ammunition purchased from Tanzania for the Sri Lanka Army. Being aware of the purchase of 35,000 mortar bombs, the LTTE made a bid to the manufacturer through a numbered company and arranged a vessel of their own to pick up the load. Once the bombs were loaded into the ship, the LTTE changed the name and registration of their ship. The vessel was taken to Tiger-held territory in Sri Lanka's north instead of transporting it to its intended destination.[130]

Western countries are the main territory for fund raising activities of the LTTE. The money raised from donations and criminal enterprises are transferred into bank accounts of the Tigers and from there to the accounts of a weapons broker, or the money is taken by KP operatives themselves. LTTE's need for resources is mostly fulfilled by the Tamils who reside outside Sri Lanka. In 1995, when the LTTE lost Jaffna, their international operatives were ordered to increase, by a massive 50%, the amount raised from Tamils outside of the island.[130]


[edit] Other crimes
LTTE has also been accused of committing credit card fraud in a number of countries including India and the United Kingdom.[57] In April 2007, the Sri Lankan High Commission in London also accused the LTTE of being behind a credit card scam, however a police spokesman said there was no definite link to the LTTE or Sri Lankan gangs.[131][132][133][134] Williams , a writer at US Institute of Peace Press, alleged the LTTE of crimes such as organized crime, social security fraud, counterfeit currency trading,[131][135] and satellite piracy.[136][137]

In 2007 the New York Police Department arrested a number of LTTE operatives who were planning to use stolen credit card information to steal $250,000 in New York City, and tens of millions more from ATMs worldwide.[57] Overall, Jane's Intelligence Review reported that the LTTE raise up to $300 million a year through various methods, including international credit card fraud and extortion of Tamil expatriates.[57]


[edit] See also
Terrorist attacks attributed to the LTTE
Notable attacks attributed to the LTTE
Assassinations attributed to LTTE
Black July
Kumaran Pathmanadan
Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups
Military use of children in Sri Lanka

Danny wants to help parolled convicts ( ex-offnders in Progressive language) get good paying Federal jobs inorder to get back at hard-working Mexicans ,according to the Chicago Defender:

Passage of the Second Chance legislation will grease the skids for more ex-offender legislation Davis intends to introduce next year. That bill will allow former felons to work at governmental agencies. Of course they will be in non-critical areas such as lawn maintenance, or doing road work etc. Davis has wondered aloud why anyone would need clearance to cut the grass at the CIA. There is no good answer.

Helping ex-offenders transition smoothly back into the community with education and skills can shore up many deficiencies. One of the largest contributions will be taking jobs that former Mexican President Vicente Fox said "Americans won't do."

Our neighborhoods are fraught with folk who don't look like us or speak the language doing jobs that give them a few bucks that don't turn over in our community. If ex-offenders are being hired, at least we know the money will stay in the community.

It's time we took steps that will reverse the unemployment and wage negatives about Black folk. Davis' legislation and pending legislation deserves the support of every Black Chicagoan in and outside of his West Side Seventh Congressional District.

http://www.chicagodefender.com/page/editorial.cfm?ArticleID=10015
Underdogs - the Tamil Tigers and released convicts; snakes and potholes. This stuff gets printed as the news! And people worry about the Writer's Strike?

This litany of horrors is from our good pals at Wikpedia

Not a Pothole - Nope. Not a Snake - Nope. It's Police! It's a Police Profiling Opportunity!

Mom and Pop Moon - Proud of Their Boy Danny! That's Livin' the Moon Life , Son!






Moon Man Dan gets better as the clock keeps ticking. Click my Post Title for the Danny K. Davis Show - "Are You America's Next Race Profiler?" (really today's Tribune piece)


Moonstruck? You bet! Danny - Turkey Coma? You dream this stuff up after putting away the HOKA and gravy?

This goof is the limit. A real maroon! He kills me! He Crowns Moon!

Now get this - Here's Danny's latest Kop a Plea on Cops for his Diving like A Brit charge this week. Dan - do NOT go north and south on Ashland - you'll bang up some citizens and property.


"I know that I had not weaved. I mean, I'm not senile," he said. "Had I weaved, I would have said 'I thought I saw a pothole,' or a snake, or something."
DK Davis (2007 U..S. Congressman and Moon Man)

Kind of reminds you of Daniel Webster don't it?

RE. Danny K. Davis - Get a Ticket - Go See Dad! The True Parent, Rev. Moon, Crowned by You , Will Pay the Fine!

Hey, Kids! That's US Congressman Davis, who thought that he was driving in England this week, got ticket and tossed the race card, standing fourth from the left of Danny's True Parent ( there's the Missus Moon and the two kids I believe), Rev. Moon, Bible Applicator and Sushi Slinger.













Here's US CONGRESSMAN Danny Davis about to crown True Parent as Messiah in 2004 - them white gloves probably cost more than the moving violation Danny Davis is trying to beat. Hey, how does Danny Davis stand on all that old seperation of Church and State Whatnot? He's an Ace Progressive!


Danny Davis tossed the race card - again - to beat a ticket. The globe trotting U.S. Congressman and pal of the Tamil Tigers thought Kedzie was a cobble stone street in Surrey, or Sussex, or Sutherland across the foamy brine, where Britons of all colors drive on the opposite side of the road.

Instead of eating the ticket, like any normal citizen, Danny Davis went on the cheap and tossed the dog-eared and well worn race card. Come Danny. Do what any 'close-knit ethnic,' HDO connected, Asian Big Ticket DNC, 'rich Jew,' or normal black American teenager does when he screws the public pooch - Go have Dad bail you out.

In 2004, you crowned the biggest Daddy in public religion and commerce - The Reverend Sun Myung Moon. The man owns every bite of sushi sold in America. Pick of the phone and give old Dad shout. He'll keep that $75 (Buckos) tucked in your vest.

Remember?

More than a dozen lawmakers attended a congressional reception this year honoring the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in which Moon declared himself the Messiah and said his teachings have helped Hitler and Stalin be "reborn as new persons."

At the March 23 ceremony in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) wore white gloves and carried a pillow holding an ornate crown that was placed on Moon's head. The Korean-born businessman and religious leader then delivered a long speech saying he was "sent to Earth . . . to save the world's six billion people. . . . Emperors, kings and presidents . . . have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent."

Here's what old Danny Davis' Pops thinks ( quite a guy BTW) - Danny I'm sure The True Parent will spring for the Six Bits:
From Salon

This year, claiming instructions from the True Father himself, Unificationists announced that a new stage had begun in the raising of Cheon Il Guk ( or heaven on earth). Believing that the crucifix could be the last obstacle keeping America from accepting Moon as the messiah, they have held conferences across the country with banners reading "Tear Down the Walls/Who is Rev. Moon?" culminating in a final crucifix-burying ceremony. Moon's Family Federation for World Peace Web site describes the inspiration as a vision that the True Father first made public last year at the 20th anniversary party of his Washington Times. (The speech, in which Moon said, "The Washington Times will become the instrument in spreading the truth about God to the world," sent many reporters to the bar for a drink, the Post reported.)

But while Moon's anti-cross rhetoric would surely turn off many of his friends on the religious right, he remains invisible in the media. Even though his rhetoric far surpasses Louis Farrakhan's in vitriol towards Jews and gays, he goes unnoticed by groups like the ADL, whose Web site highlights the Nation of Islam as a hate group, while its only mention of Moon comes in a warning about the violent threats of extremist rabbi Meir Kahane (who in 1976 "declared war" on Moon missionaries, vowing none "would walk the street safely").

Disciples insist it is a mistake to take Moon's words literally, out of the context of the broader Divine Principle. They hasten to add that the massive archives of speeches online are hastily written translations and are trustworthy only in the original Korean.

But at his Unification.net FAQ, webmaster Damian Anderson warns of any politically correct dilution of, for example, Moon's attack on Jews.

"The fact is that the Jewish people committed a grievous sin in rejecting the Lord, and the world is today committing a grievous sin in rejecting the Lord," he writes. "I will not water down what Father said to please liberal constituencies within his own church."

Within his church, his entreaties to cherish and punish your "love organ" (with pliers if necessary, he suggested in 2001) manage to find an audience. On Blessed Children World, an online message board for kids of Unification families, there is much discussion of church beliefs. "I hate gay people," one B.C. observes. Other B.C.'s ask whether it's a sin to go to the prom and debate a church doctrine that rape victims are considered impure. "Kill yourself before you ARE raped," one posts. "Bite out your tongue and choke on your own blood if you need to. (No joke, that was in Father's speech from some time ago). Anyhow, I know it sounds totally NAZI of us to say/think/believe such things..."

That frank admission has since been deleted from a Nov. 1, 2002, message thread titled "I cannot accept rape = fall," in which other posts contend sexual purity is "worth dying for." But the sentiment, at least, seems to be supported by Moon's speeches.

"If someone is trying to invade you, you would rather kill yourself than go through the fall. At least you won't go to hell that way ... this means love comes before life," he told an audience in 1992. For at all costs, women in Moon's view must not reenact the primal wrong, the perversion Moon sees as responsible for the Fall. "There is nothing more important than the new lineage."

(Again from Salon)


Danny's Dad believes! Yep, and Danny behaves accordingly!



As always, click on my post title for the Tribune account of Danny Davis driving like an Englishman - ON KEDZIE!

Two Pros Go for Baroque at Chicago Symphony Center Last Night

CSO - Co-Concert Master Robert Chen and Conductor Nicholas Kraemer Two Real Pros at Work!

Last night I took the kids to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's performance of baroque pieces by Handel, Telemann and two compositions by Hayden.

The music was wonderful! Played by Whitey O'Day and Terry McEldowney at McNally's after a Cubs loss and the music would still be wonderful - of course it would be interesting - like aluminium siding on Chartres Cathedral.

But what really grabbed me, that I relayed to the kids, was the powerful professionalism and discipline of the members of CSO all around, but most especially Robert Chen the co-concert master - the violinist who sits on the audience's right hand (sinister to Maestro) side of the conductor. This was a lesson in craftsmanship, dignity, and work ethic!

Robert Chen calmly but forcefully - a real foreman - stalled the start of the second movement of a piece by Telemann when some bonehead's cell-phone or pocket recorder buzzzed through Symphony Center ( Orchestra Hall to me). Some clowns should stay home and TIVO or WI or whatever those mopes do. Robert Chen displayed a powerful grace and dedication to his trade.

At the conclusion of Haydn's C- Major Symphony # 90 there was glitch - it seemed that the Violist caught the glitch - lost on most of us ( especially this less-than craven sophisticate 'Hell, Boy, that Handel's Water Music gets the toes to tappin' don' it?').

Nicholas Kraemer, the British conductor for this powerful night of music that hightlighted Chris Martin ( no not the Cold Play guy married to the skinny blond) on trumpet for Haydn's Trumpet Concerto, and Robert Chen smoothed the bump with great humor and energetic self-deprecation. Obviously, two wondeful pros and great guys.

The sainted old Magyar, Sir George Solti would have had the poor music librarian or stage hands 'knackers' on Carr's Biscuits for a post concert snack.

Maestro Kraemer and Co Concert Master Bob Chen - the beers are on me! Thanks for showing my kids, not only a great night of music, but real pros at work!

Click on my post title for a Chicago Sun Times review of this great night of music.

McCain and The Railsplitter's Reconciliation

In the 1840's Whig Abraham Lincoln and Democrat James J. Shields confronted one another over the collapse of the Illinois economy. Shields, Comptroller General, saved the State of Illinois from Economic ruin and angered the Whigs, especially their leader Lincoln.

Political enmity boiled into a personal feud that had more to do with affairs of the heart and the two political foes nearly fought a duel. There is some disagreement over who calmed whom in this affair. I take the view that Shields, a fierce veteran soldier and adventurer, choked up a little common sense in honest Abe. Dr. J. Sean Callan's Courage and Country gives a wonderful account of this little known but important event in Illinois history.

Nevertheless, Shields and Lincoln became good friends when their cooler heads prevailed. Lincoln appointed Shields Brigadier General of llinois Volunteers when the Civil War began and Shields went on to defeat Stonwall Jackson at Kernstown in 1862 - the only Union general to win a tactical victory over the Genius from Virginia - Old Blue Light.

John McCain, like Lincoln and Shields before him, is a leader of fierce instincts and human outlook. John McCain is never afraid of a brawl, but understands that reconciliation is the best political tool in the bag.

Read about John McCain on political reconciliation and get a look a a real leader and a great America.

As always, click on my Post Title for the link.

John McCain Make You Mad? Good - It Takes a Leader to Challenge a Mad World

A Soldier, a maverick, a guy who makes his way in the world by his own honor, patriotism and courage. He tries to save the foolish king. He is confronted by political spin doctors and voodoo merchants who sell honor to the highest bidder.

This make him angry and blunt.

He is the Bastard - the only good guy in Shakespeare's King John, a soldier of fortune due to his bar-sinister birth and hero of epic proportions. When the Bastard hears his King give in to compromise - 'False tickling Commodity' the Bastard holds forth:

Mad world! mad kings! mad composition!
John, to stop Arthur's title in the whole,
Hath willingly departed with a part, (L 575 )
And France, whose armour conscience buckled on,
Whom zeal and charity brought to the field
As God's own soldier, rounded in the ear
With that same purpose-changer, that sly devil,
That broker, that still breaks the pate of faith, (L 580 )
That daily break-vow, he that wins of all,
Of kings, of beggars, old men, young men, maids,
Who, having no external thing to lose
But the word 'maid,' cheats the poor maid of that,
That smooth-faced gentleman, tickling Commodity, (L 585)
Commodity, the bias of the world,
The world, who of itself is peised well,
Made to run even upon even ground,
Till this advantage, this vile-drawing bias,
This sway of motion, this Commodity, (L 590)
Makes it take head from all indifferency,
From all direction, purpose, course, intent:
And this same bias, this Commodity,
This bawd, this broker, this all-changing word,
Clapp'd on the outward eye of fickle France, (L595)
Hath drawn him from his own determined aid,
From a resolved and honourable war,
To a most base and vile-concluded peace.
And why rail I on this Commodity?
But for because he hath not woo'd me yet: (L 600)
Not that I have the power to clutch my hand,
When his fair angels would salute my palm;
But for my hand, as unattempted yet,
Like a poor beggar, raileth on the rich.
Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail (L 605)
And say there is no sin but to be rich;
And being rich, my virtue then shall be
To say there is no vice but beggary.
Since kings break faith upon commodity,
Gain, be my lord, for I will worship thee.

Thank God for Bastards! The Hero of Shakespeare's play vents and ironically vows to embrace compromise - he will not and does not! Some people - the ones who John McCain makes Mad do not get irony. A life dedicated to uncompromising integrity is foreign to them - makes them mad. I heard one such person say, 'McCain's a Bastard!

You bet he is! A Tough, honest, committed American Bastard.

John McCain makes people Mad - people who will compromise. Good.

Click my post title for John McCain on making people mad.

The STNG - News Created by a Free Paper - The Chicago Reader

Like the HRH Blucher of the Austrian navy in WWI, STNG rolls desperately and the crew is doomed.



The TV show The Office was a creation of a British Comic, as was Sanford and Son and All in The Family;Plagiarized to economic success by Norman Lear. The same thing is going on with the STNG - Sun Times News Group led by the big Banana Cyrus Friedheim.

The Sun Times looted from the scuttles to the top mast by Lord Black and David Radler has been sinking like that Austrian Cruiser Blucher, from old WWI footage - the one above where the crew desperately tries to stay aboard as the ship rolls porpoise like on the grey seas. We see doomed and desperate little men doing a tragi-comic log roll on the Leviathan hull of that ship. Similarly desperate, STNG has taken the work of John Conroy on Police Abuse and laundered Burge out of the fabric with a daily drum beat down of Cops and Ben Joravsky's TIF salvos and Brown Sugared them - Mark Brown has moved from Cop Bashing to fronting for Mike Quigley - the Uriah Heep of Illinois Political life. - Click my post title for Mark Brown's work on behalf of the world tallest political pygmy.

The New Che T-Shirt Edition of Propaganda ( @ $125 with pre-frayed collars) posing as Journalism at the Sun Times and , sadly, now at the morphed Southown Star has been and continues to be churned out by the Chicago Reader. Chicago Police have been undermined by the STNG for too long. Quit buying their papers.

If you want to read about TIFs ( Tax Incentive Funding) read Ben Joravsky for free - it don't cst nothing. If you want to read about G. Flint Taylor's orchestrated efforts ( woodwinds: U of C Law' Strings - Bluhm Center of Northwestern; Percussion - Lefty Writers of Mother Jones, Peoples Weekly & etc.; Brass -Gangbangers, Activists and 'Reverends'; Chorus - Cliffs Notes Readers in knit caps and Patagonia catalog wear) to loot the tax payers by John Conroy. The Chicago Reader is free. STNG costs way too much at any price. Now, with the Daily Southtown being scuttled by the Banana Republic of STNG, more good sailors with go down with the ship, as well as the complicit cargo rats. I used to love reading a newspaper -but they do not seem to love readers back.

Like Norman Lear's comedy concentrate offered weak scripts and marginal entertainment compared to the originals, STNGs propaganda is not genuine Lefty literature - it is only playing radical to Kop nickles.

I Knew the Woman in Me Was Correct - There Ain't Nothing in the World Like A Dame!

Now, this kid has it correct! She'll do just fine! God I love Women!

















This is a True Feminist - she lives like a guy would naturally live - without children or a wife. Unless of course he were Truman Capote or Randolph Scott.




This is how our Progressive Feminist ( Male and Female) continues to perceive marriage. They (PFs) tend to be self-absorbed tweedy pains in the ass and no one pays any attention to them outside of the Media and Academia- still.

Most of the balance of humanity are pretty well adjusted - we take our triumphs and set-backs; joys and miseries; labors and rewards for what they tend to be. We live our lives - help others, meet our responsiblities and get in a few giggles now and then.

Then there is the perpetually smug or outraged and universally olfactory challenged ( the smell of this law, this stinks of corruptions ; & etc.) Progressive of all stripes.

A new study by Rutgers University shows that Feminists make better mates; Craig Futterman of University of Chicago, who cured cancer last night, built an eternal light bulb and discovered that his Police accountability study based upon the anthology of John Conroy Chicago reader stories agreed with his theory that Police are 'really, really bad and will never be any better, because his friends in the Lawsuit Lotto Lawyers League need to continue bringing suit against the Chicago Police Department,' showed his study to NPR and they loved it! The Tobacco Institute continues to prove that Joe Camel was a great friend to teens.

All along I have had the feeling that the more women act like me ( eat only while wearing Leo sweat pants, watch movies with mega-explosions and cool make throw-away lines) the more likely celebacy would become practical and attractive. We are here to generate the species, but also to make the species work properly. That is role of Woman. Women who recoil from my follies, sloth, and instrinsic stupidities - 'how about if take all of the insurance settlement from your fall, Honey, to the OTB? Why is that Stupid? Robby Albarado is riding a grey - tell me that's not an investment strategy! Fine. I'm going to Father Perez (KofCs #1446) and I am not doing the gutters!'- are the sexiest. Let's take a look at great thought from Female/Male perspectives from the world of film:

"Thank you Neil Simon for making us laugh at falling in love...again."

"When ya call me that, smile!", but "If you wanna call me that, smile."


"Fiddle-dee-dee."

"As God is my witness, as God is my witness, they're not going to lick me! I'm going to live through this, and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again - no, nor any of my folks! If I have to lie, steal, cheat, or kill! As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again."

"Strike me pink!"


" Oh! You cursed brat. Look what you've done. I'm melting! Melting! Oh, what a world! What a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness."

"We'll always have Paris."

"That's mighty brave talk for a one-eyed fat man."

"For the woman - the kiss, for the man - the sword."

"Steady boy. Just keep telling yourself you're a girl."
- "I'm a girl...I'm a girl...I'm a girl."

"Shapeley's the name - and that's the way I like 'em!"


"Wendy, darling. Light of my life. I'm not gonna hurt ya... I'm just gonna bash your brains in."

"I am Mata Hari, my own master."

Yep There ain't nothing in the world like a Dame - Nothing in this World!

I think you Broads are the Cat's whiskers! Come on - fill up my dance card - You Big Tramps!

As always - click on my post title for the link to the Rutgers story

John McCain and the Rented Mule

While working at Gateway Trucking in Chicago Ridge many years ago, my shift supervisor would leave us with these words, 'Night Boys, time to get on home to beat the wife and make love to my dog!'

Only the graduates of St. Ignatius College Prep ( a Chicago Catholic School of Wealthy Brainiacs) were taken aback by his words, as they had been hard-wired by the Jesuits for subtleties in language and the arcana of rhetorical flourishes.

The balance of us, understood that Myron's was a comic levelling device employed after-shift and the natural departure of dockworker command structure.

Loved John McCain's response when asked how he intends to 'beat' Hillary Clinton in the general election: . . . 'like a rented mule.'

The polls prove the best man correct:

The Best Candidate to Beat Senator Hillary Clinton

ARLINGTON, VA - Today, Fox News released a poll demonstrating once again why John McCain is the only conservative who can beat Hillary Clinton in the general election next fall.

"It is impossible to ignore the fact that John McCain is cementing his position as the best candidate to defeat Hillary Clinton," said campaign manager Rick Davis. "New data released by Fox News, Rasmussen Reports, SurveyUSA, and Quinnipiac show that voters want to nominate a candidate who can beat Hillary Clinton without compromising the bedrock principles the Republican Party was founded on."

Voters are coming to the conclusion that John McCain is the only candidate who can beat Hillary Clinton and restore trust in government. John McCain has a 24-year record of leading a tough battle against pork-barrel spending and government waste. Known as a reformer, McCain has the credibility to restore Americans' trust in Washington. And in a time of war, John McCain is the only candidate with the experience and knowledge to wage a winning war against radical Islamic extremism.

Fox News/Opinion Dynamics National General Election, November 13-14, 2007:

John McCain 45% Hillary Clinton 46%
Rudy Giuliani 43% Hillary Clinton 47%
Fred Thompson 40% Hillary Clinton 49%
Mitt Romney 37% Hillary Clinton 50%

Quinnipiac Ohio General Election, Released November 14, 2007:
John McCain 46% Hillary Clinton 42%
Rudy Giuliani 43% Hillary Clinton 44%
Fred Thompson 38% Hillary Clinton 48%
Mitt Romney 38% Hillary Clinton 47%

SurveyUSA Ohio General Election, November 9-11, 2007:
John McCain 47% Hillary Clinton 46%
Rudy Giuliani 44% Hillary Clinton 49%
Mitt Romney 42% Hillary Clinton 51%
Mike Huckabee 37% Hillary Clinton 54%

Rasmussen Reports Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Among Presidential Hopefuls, McCain Has Lowest Level Of Core Opposition:

With less than two months to go until the Iowa caucuses kick off the actual voting in Election 2008, Arizona Senator John McCain finds himself with the smallest level of core opposition among all the major Presidential candidates from both parties. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 33% say they will definitely vote against McCain if he is on the ballot in November 2008. That's down from 39% a month ago and a peak of 42% in June. These results come on top of a week of good polling news for the man from Arizona.

Read Analysis Of How John McCain Outperforms Rudy Giuliani In Key Swing States

St. Ignatius grads - he's making a joke.

Expunge It - Do The Crime; Forget the Crime Tamara Holder and Nutbag Media Bananas Here to Help

Here's Tamara and some celebrated Chicago Emmett Kelly Imitators - they got the clown's frown down!

Remember all the hoopla at Ickes Homes a few weeks back when Jesse Jackson had his sleepover? Attorney Tamara Holder was out in front for Je$$e, who never goes anywhere unless there is a huge - or modest - Check - on which to blow the ink dry.

Tamara Holder is an expungement attorney and she helped the three people who hit 'Walking Mike' - a suburban man hit, mutilated and hidden by three people, one of whom was a man who needs his criminal past expunged - Tamara Holder is helping him do just that. As only a Lawsuit Lotto Lawyer is wont to do, Tamara blames the 60 year old victim's family for her client's actions - alleged actions and subsequent cover-up. Consistent.

Click my post title for the Daily Southtown Story.

BTW -I will stop buying the Daily Southtown when the people laid off by Cyrus Friedheim, put in their last day, no sense in denying those great people a few dimes; - shoot Cyrus found the money to pay off Right Wing death squads, while slinging Bananas at Chiquita, but he can not scrape together a few nickles for his employees. Must be nice to toss folks in this Season of Giving - The Progressive - Independent Conscience of the City - some conscience - which City?


Citizen Tamara Holder is just one of the many talented and greedy Lawsuit Lotto Lawyers working closely Chicago's New Media Crowd. She was vocal about [olice abuse with Jesse - better than wearing a sandwich sign and walking around Ickes Homes I guess. Ink-slingers for STNG never seem to disclose the associations of these mattress stuffing lawyers, who loot the taxpayers, cloaked in smug-social self-righteousness. Joe Chicago can read and follow the news BTW. Joe, Mary and Aunt Molly Chicago, to nod to Dick Simpson's coal heave for the Combine of STNG and LawsuitLawyers, step around the bullscat!

http://xpunged.com/about.php

I have more respect for the ambulance chasers who wear cowboy hats and actually show up at disasters, but that's just me, just a guy who reads the newspapers. And Tamara, has made her presence known.

Here's what Tamara is all about! She will be handling these cases, where the Politicians, the Reverends, and the Banana Republic News Media roll over confidence in Law Enforcement.

Tamara has staked out her bush in the Lawsuit Windfall Boondocks:

Chicago Expungement Attorney Tamara Holder is a graduate of The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois.

While in law school, Tamara interned at Miramax Films in Los Angeles, CA where she participated in contract formation and arbitration for many of Hollywood's biggest stars. She also interned for the Cook County State's Attorney where she prosecuted criminal cases. She was a member of The Trial Advocacy Team and The Negotiation Team.

Following an early graduation from law school, Tamara worked for a criminal defense firm. Soon thereafter, she formed her own practice where she defended misdemeanor and felony criminal cases.

Big Hollywood Stars and folks with criminal pasts that need to disappear: HMMM, could taking advantage of the orchestrated Media chaos that blurs the truth behind incidents by tossing in race and brutality, leading to mega-Million $$$$ Lawsuits make sense to young plunger like Tamara? Sneedless to say!

These bedbugs barristers with their partners in the Banana Republic of Chicago Journalism (STNG) make Justice pretty itchy - Ickey I'd say.