John McCain: School Choice, or More of This? CPS Anti-Violence Meeting Erupts in Violence

Public Schools have eliminated values ( religious or civic) forsake of a pale Political Correctness: when you stand for nothing, expect the consequences.

Catholic, Protestant, Jewish Muslim, Independent schools have stated core values in the mission statements.

The ACLU and the political bosses of the Public School Lobbies have killed the educational immune systems in Public Schools. Where Faith, Patriotism, Civic Values, Family Traditions are not welcome the synthetic gang sub-cultures flourish.

Witness the outburst of violence at a Chicago Anti-Violence Meeting at a Chicago Public high school yesterday.

An anti-violence rally at George Washington High School turned ugly Thursday when a series of fights broke out in a crowd of students being dismissed for the day.

Parents and students had gathered at 3 p.m. to protest what they said has been escalating violence between black and Latino students at the school, at 3535 E. 114th St. on the Far Southeast Side.

Tensions between the groups have persisted for years, parents and students said. But this week has been particularly violent, with several flare-ups that caused some parents to pull children out of school for their safety. Several parents said they would not allow their children to return to school until the violence was addressed.

The protest came on the heels of a larger rally Chicago Public Schools held earlier this week calling for an end to the shootings that have claimed 20 students this year.

John McCain is the only Presidential Candidate of any Party who leads on School Choice.

Click my post title for the latest example of what happens when schools stand for nothing.

1958 St. Pat's 79th Street Parade- Click My Title for Full Video

Tom Stumpf sent me this wonderful color slide show of the 1958 St. Patrick's Day Parade that marched from Ashland to Halsted on 79th Street. Note the absence of goofy green hats.

Leo High School is the dominant institution of the parade route and continues to be an Auburn-Gresham Anchor.

Get a load of the great floats including Dressler's Baker and Borden's Dairy.

Terry McEldowney, himself a 79th Street Institution, leads the keening on the anthem South Side Irish which chonicles the litany of Catholic Parishes that comprise - the South Side Irish.

Thank you Tom Stumpf!

John McCain: The Democrat Convention: What Really Happens at 3AM!

MSNBC - The Tool Shed's Bloated Fop - Gracie Olbermann and his identical twin Rachel Maddow the Gender Neutral Doublemint Twins of Fatuous Commentary -take every opportunity to slight the Honor, Ingerity, Service and Age of Senator John McCain.

John McCain is the only clear choice for Americans.

This is Howard Dean's Democratic National Committee's Dream Team- Democrat Convention!

Party or Not?

Hat Tip to American Patriot, Free Spender, Tax Smart and Ale Genius, Patriot and Patron - San Francisco's Vietnam Veteran Author - Mike McQuade!!!!!!

Click my post title for the very funny Olbermann Watch - Old Woman Olbermann never gets the time right and he's never been broke

John McCain: School Choice is the Answer to Righting the Political and Economic Disaster that is Our Public Schools

( Hat Tip to Illinois Review's Matt Gauntt - click my post title for more)

Leo Men like Mike Joyce (above) Volunteer to mentor and coach black young men into colleges and universities 93% go on to college. Jack O'Keefe and Denny Conway, two retired Educators do Math and English Prep every Saturday Free of Charge - No Marches. No Dollars.


Yesterday, Arne Duncan, who attended University High in Hyde Park a Blue Chip Independent School, threatened that 190 Million was the minimum CPS would accept from Illinois Taxpayers or the Chicago Taxpayers get it good and hard with a brand spanking new Property Tax. Had one last Fall, Arne, and the Irish Chapstick ( Preparation H) was just starting to take effect.

Politics, taxes, homicides, marches, pronouncements are all nice and everything, thanks very much, but I'll decline - just the same.

School Choice. That's what I want.

With School choice, Public Schools will become accountable through serious competition with University High, Leo, Mount Carmel, Luthers South, North and East, Latin School & etc.

Families will choose where they wish to send their sons and daughters and not be limited by economics - race and class if you will.

After work today, I will drive a bundle of study Guides over to Denny Conway's House so he can prep for the Voluntary Coaching he and Jack O'Keefe ( two retired educators and Leo Alumni) do for Leo High School Seniors. These guys and many other Leo guys step up and help kids boost their ACT Scores and it costs - not Nickel One!

These two retired Leo Men arrive here on Saturday mornings and conduct intense coaching for college bound Leo Men. No March. No Tax Dollars. Just genuine concern for kids.

Bill and Melinda Gates conducted a study linked below that points to the appalling graduation rates in American High Schools - Public Schools. Sadly, no where in the conclusion do I see any consideration for School Choice. Chicago Public Schools graduated about 5 in 10 kids. Might as well teach children very early in life to buy all the Lotto Tickets they can lay hands upon! Here's the Conclusion of the Gates Study:

EPE Research Center
April 2008 Cities in Crisis | 14
Conclusion
When they are not being labeled “obsolete,” America’s high schools have often been described as existing in a state of crisis. As this report has demonstrated, that observation is particularly apt for the school systems serving the nation’s very largest cities. A significant share of recent public debate in education-policy circles has revolved around the challenges we face as a nation ensuring that all students graduate from high school, diploma in-hand and well-equipped to face the world and excel in their adult lives. This is an aspiration that would apply whether an individual student’s path from high school leads to further education, occupational training, or immediately into the world of work.
If three out of every 10 students in the nation failing to graduate is reason for concern, then the fact that just half of those educated in America’s largest cities are finishing high school truly raises cause for alarm. And the much higher rates of high school completion among their suburban counterparts – who may literally live and attend school right around the corner – place in a particularly harsh and unflattering light the deep undercurrents of inequity that plague American public education.
It is often remarked that knowledge is power. The good news is that a movement is afoot to better arm educators, policymakers, and the public with the information they need to more accurately assess the nature and severity of the graduation crisis in their communities and around the country. Innovative efforts to turn around low-performing high schools are also underway. The bad news, however, is that the challenges we face may be more grave than many had suspected or that some are still willing to acknowledge. And when it comes to providing every student with a high-quality education, we have not come as far or moved as fast as most of us would like.
In forging a way ahead, it will be essential that we not lose sight of the disparities highlighted in this report, which portray two very different worlds that exist within the nation’s public education system. As efforts to understand and combat the graduation crisis advance, this movement must proceed hand-in-hand with a fundamental commitment to creating a public education system in which earning a high school diploma is the norm for all students in every community, and where dropping out is a rare exception.

( Emphasis My own) Rare indeed - as Rare as a 'Round on the House' at Bennigan's - invisible.


John McCain is the only Presidential Candidate for School Choice . I caught Senator Obama on Milky Matthews' Hardball Campus Tour, last night. When the issue of inner city schools came up Senator Obama cited Public School Lobby Dogma Chapter and Verse: More Programs ( Federal) More Tax Dollars.

We can not keep putting chips on Public School Roulette Square BLACK/RED 36 - It ain't on the Table.

http://www.americaspromise.org/uploadedFiles/AmericasPromiseAlliance/Dropout_Crisis/SWANSONCitiesInCrisis040108.pdf

McCain: Daley states, 'That's Right! You Know What Time It Is!' - He's 'Bout To Bust a Property Tax Cap, YO!

Only Hours after bringing Chicago Public School Homicides to its knees with a dramatic and well-publicized March around Thompson Center, shots were fired near Morgan Park High School in my neighborhood.

With his usual aplomb, Daley went Old Testament on the City Tax-payers. Daley and Arne Duncan, both proud products of private education, promised to bust a cap- Property Tax Cap - the one that was raised last Fall, if Gov. Blago does not come up with the trump for Arne's National Laugh, in the ear of Chicago Tax Payers.

That's me. I take the weather personally.

Public Schools are tragedy and Chicago Public Schools are Blood Tragedy ( Marlowe, Jonson, Ford)- the shockingly violent sister of the genre. CPS kids die from homicide. People kill those kids. The guns do not go off by themselves. People kill other people because they feel comfortable doing so - we live in a Thug Comfort Zone.


We live in a Thug Comfort Zone, because thugs are fearless - they suffer no consequences. The sorry state of public education in Chicago contributes to the Thug Comfort Zone, as do the more moronic members of the media, lawsuit addicted radical lawyers, radical 501(c)3 University Think Tanks and gutless politicians.

School Choice will help end the violence, by forcing Arne Duncan to make his school's accountable through competition.

John McCain is a Federalist who will lead for School Choice. The Federal Government will encourage States to act on School Choice.

Here's Insane Arne D on what you need to know:

Chicago Schools CEO Arne Duncan said $180 million in new state money is the "bare minimum" to allow the district to expand kindergarten, evening classes and foreign-language instruction, among other programs.

The threat comes after Daley raised property taxes last fall. Additionally, the City Council increased the real estate transfer tax as part of a CTA bailout that also included a quarter-cent sales tax increase that took effect Tuesday. Come July 1, the Cook County Board's 1 percent sales tax increase will hit taxpayers.

Get to Marching' Arne!

The rest of us, let's get to John McCain's leadership on School Choice.

You know what time it is!

Click my post title. for the story on Daley's Threat

John McCain: Meet John Kass!

Today's Reuters piece reports that John McCain feels that Americans are too cynical - really? Sorry- comes with being a life-long smart-ass and punching bag. And there in lies the rub; I make a crack and expect one in kind. Not so, too many very loud Public voices in Cable TV, Print and especially on Talk Radio. Say anything - no consequences.


Senator John McCain at 71 years of age and five of those years being tortured with great regularity, is sprinting around the country, while a bloated fop on MSNBC- The Tool Shed, Keith Olbermann makes cracks about his age and lifetime of service.

"But when healthy skepticism sours into corrosive cynicism our expectations of our government become reduced to the delivery of services. And to some people the expectations of liberty are reduced to the right to choose among competing brands of designer coffee."

Olbermann and his androgynous twin Rachel Maddow make a point of sneering at Honor, Service and Commitment, because they were spawned by the forces of indulgence and self-satisfaction.

Not so, Chicago Journalist, Columnist, wit and 'fly-in-the-ointment' that greases Illinois public corruption, The Chicago Tribune's John Kass. John McCain would have no difference of sentiment from John Kass - identical values it seems to me. From Wikpedeia - My C-Minus Intellect's Canon of Facts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kass

John Kass is a Chicago Tribune columnist.

The son of a Greek immigrant grocer, Kass was born June 23, 1956, on the South Side of Chicago and grew up there and in Oak Lawn, IL. He held many jobs - retailer, ditch digger, waiter - before becoming a student of film at Columbia College in Chicago. There, he worked in the student newspaper and gained the attention of Daryle Feldmeir, president of the media department and previous editor of the Chicago Daily News. Feldmeir and media professor Les Brownlee helped Kass to obtain an internship at the Daily Calumet in 1980, where Kass worked as a reporter until he left for the Tribune.

Kass lives in the southern suburbs of Chicago with his wife and twin children.


[edit] Style of Writing
Kass uses his bully pulpit to rail against corruption in government and highlight the impact of corruption on taxpayers. In September 2003, he wrote about Federal indictments handed down in a scandal involving city contracts. Kass wrote, "what drives the criticism is the obscene amounts of taxpayer dollars that go to [Mayor Daley's] pals. In deal after deal after deal, the attitude is that his guys can take what they want and the people in the neighborhoods better shut up about it, while higher taxes put more and more pressure on families to pay for the deals."[1]

Kass often writes nostalgically about Chicago's bygone days. He describes one of Chicago's famous steakhouses by writing, "[Gene and Georgetti's] is a hangout where information is traded, among politicians, insiders, reporters, wise-guys, salesmen, consultants, from the buttoned down to the gold chains crowd. And what makes it work is that they serve the best steak in the city, period. The service is impeccable without being showy and the drinks are honest. Gene's is a part of the old Chicago, the city as it was before so much of the downtown was turned into a theme park."[2]

A frequent target for Kass is Richard M. Daley, the long-time Mayor of Chicago. Kass once wrote, "Investigations into massive affirmative-action contract fraud and the Hired Truck scandals, and a series of convictions have pressured the mayor and his inner-circle, who, when it came to cronyism and contracts, once behaved as if they were untouchable. Now, the mayor has jumped on the reform bandwagon, at least publicly, frantically offering good-government initiatives, even as the feds bore in on the source of his absolute power: His patronage armies that dictate politics and policy on the local, state and federal levels, electing his favored candidates, but also crushing those he doesn't like, getting rid of them in party primaries."[3]

In his columns Kass is a frequent critic of what he terms as the "combine" of Illinois politics, wherein powerful elements of the Illinois Republican and Democratic parties unite for the purposes of political corruption.

Kass also writes about lighter topics, particularly beer can chicken.
Kass's column appears on page 2 of the Tribune's news section.

John Kass goes out of his way to pin-prick the vanities of public men and women whose public actions indicate that they feel somehow above the Law and those they were elected to serve. Kass is the best Chicago Public Writer since Finley Peter Dunne, who invented the 'Public Persona' style of writing with his character Mr. Dooley. Only the Chicago Tribune's Daniel B. McGrath, the Sports Editor, is Kass's superior in crafting simple declarative sentences. Dan McGrath is recognized nation-wide as a great sports writer. Writer indeed,

John Kass is no cynic - far from that group of wily Greeks who used words to circumvent the Law and even Ethics.

Kass is locked to ethikos - what ought to be. The Romans touted morals ( mores - customs or traditions, the Greeks locked ethics into Man. John Kass does not give - in Chicago terms - a 'fat rat's ass' about niceties or politically correct boondoggles. Like Dryden, Swift, Pope, Thackeray, Twain, and Mencken, Kass roots out the deeds that make life miserable for most of us.

Senator John McCain, meet John Kass.

Senator McCain worries that,

"Many Americans are indifferent to or cynical about the virtues that our country claims," the former Vietnam prisoner of war will say.

In part, he says, it is because some have suffered economic dislocations while others profit as never before, and in part, it is a "reaction to government's mistakes and incompetence and to the selfishness of some public figures."

He comes close to calling some Americans spoiled, saying they are cynical because "the ease which wealth and opportunity have given their lives led them to the mistaken conclusion that America, and the liberties its system of government is intended to protect, just aren't important to the quality of their lives."

Senator, point to John Kass and more of us will get things right.

John McCain: "Heroes" Ad Leads off with Teachers

The Choice is ours. John McCain is a public servant who lives what he believes and believes what is best about America.


John McCain's video ad "Heroes' Leads off with Teachers and his most inspirational teacher, Mr. Ravenel: English Teacher and Football Coach . Click my Post Title and learn something.

John McCain is the only candidate running for President of the United States with a clear position on School Choice. Given the very sad state of America's public schools, School Choice is the best and only means of saving public education.

John McCain: Arne Duncan, Phd. Piled High and Deep! School Choice Arne, Is the Only Way to Help Yourself and the Chicago Public Schools

Leading Cancer Specialist Dr. Krop E. PayCheque informed the disappointed children of the 101st Airborne Division's Precision Bicycle Marching Team that raccoons often have their way with tired carburetors and there is absolutely nothing that serious members of the League of Baseball Hotties could do - or improve upon - at this time.

And for more clarity on the crisis facing tax-payers and the deplorable state of Chicago Public Schools we have CPS CEO Arne Duncan:

From Today's Tribune

Clarke's slaying, like every other student killing this year, left Chicago Public Schools chief Arne Duncan speaking about the need to get rid of guns and hold manufacturers accountable. Last year in CPS a record 34 students were killed during the school year.

Tuesday's rally will put more heat on lawmakers, Duncan said.

"This is a public health epidemic. We are struggling to find the cure for AIDS, we are struggling to find the cure for cancer; we know the cure for this public health epidemic -- getting rid of guns," said Duncan. "We need political courage."

You need a much looser collar size. You need air to the brain-pan, Arne!

We all need School Choice.That's Arne up there in the photo of his classmates who did not attend Chicago Public Schools either - see how he pays attention!


Photo: Arne Duncan Top Row Extreme Right - His Left - Tall Guy.

Code Stupid Part IX; Obama Explain ISM's Connection to Trinity - ISM was part of the Easter Attack on My Church!

Easter Sunday - Six thugs attacked worshippers. Interviewed as a 'witness' to their planned 'Action' was International Solidarity Movement (ISM) operative Kevin Clark.

Chicago Tribune's Stacey St. Clair told me last week that she had no interest in looking into Kevin Clark and ISM Involvement in the assault of worshippers by a group calling themselves Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War.

The Canadian Press is looking into ISM and its close involvement with Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Trinity Church:

But Obama’s association with the ISM through his church and lobbying in Chicago goes even deeper than just his past links to Al Awda and Ali Abunimah. His pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and the Trinity Union Church of Christ in Chicago, are both equally involved with the ISM.

Since 2001, the ISM has been tasked by the PLO and other Arab irredentist groups with getting new generations of American college kids to consider democratic Israel as somehow a violator of human rights, all the while as the Palestinian Arabs who practice open anti-Semitism, honor killings, and the murders of their own people as well as Jews, as commendable practices. At their 2003 national organizing conference at Ohio State, ISM activists set out to deconstruct American narratives about Israel as a democratic state with firm support from secular radical Americans of Jewish ancestry. In one workshop set up to discuss ways to put a good face on suicide bombings, ISM activists spoke of new ways of reinterpreting the Bible so Israel did not belong to the Jews, but to the Palestinians.

Click My Post Title for the Full treatment of a dangerous radical group (ISM) with Islamist Terrorist.

Senator Obama has some vetting to do.

ISM witnessed and act of terror on my Church.

The Chicago Tribune had better light a fire under Ms St. Clair.

John McCain: School Choice and Not Marches, or More Studies, or More Homicides Will Improve American Education

Over the weekend, another Chicago Public School student was murdered and the Chicago Public School's respond with a March on Thompson Center for stricter gun laws - Chicago has the strictest Gun Laws in America - but 'now we really mean it!'

Hundreds of Chicago Public School students are expected to converge on the James R. Thompson Center Tuesday morning, urging state legislators to enact stiffer gun laws after a student was killed in the parking lot of the Simeon Career Academy on Saturday.

More than 400 Simeon students will be bused by the district to attend the protest outside the Thompson Center, which houses Illinois state offices. Students from other schools such as Jones College Prepatory (sic) High School are also expected, officials said.
The protest comes in the wake of Saturday's slaying of Chavez Clarke, 18. On Monday two Dunbar Vocational Career Academy students who also had been taking Saturday classes at Simeon—Samuel Hill, 17, and Ronald Little, 19—were charged with Clarke's killing.

Chicago Tribune Today.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-simeon-shooting-webapr01,1,4255642.story

The Chicago Public Schools will bus 400 students and their chaperons ( I hope) to Thompson Center. It is to be presumed that Chicago Police Department will be called upon to increase their presence at Thompson Center. The kids will be hungry after the march - lunch must be provided. Teachers need to eat. Gas? It's on your dime, Taxpayer.

No instruction at Simeon today! This will be a 'learning, sharing and wonderful experience for the children.'

Leo High School is only a few blocks from Simeon. Teaching is going on full boil. Parents sacrifice to pay tuition costs and Leo Alumni pour tons of dollars to help.
As a result, 93% of all Leo graduates goo on to colleges and universities. It ain't brain-surgery - it is teaching, discipline, commitment.

There is no other choice, but Leo High School. Calumet High School. Simeon. Harper. Of, that's right Harper is closing. Arne's happy the kids are marching to demand stricter gun laws. Three Card Monte, Kids! Pick a card! Too fast - Lousy Schools means we need stricter gun laws.

This March Demands! This March Costs! This March is another in long string of cop-outs. Parent Failure; More Gun Laws; More Time; More Bureaucracy; More Arne Duncan Boondoggles; More Rufus Williams Social Events in Stella Foster Columns!

The fact that Chicago Public School students are the top homicide demographic tells me that the problem appears to lie with the sorry state of Chicago Public Schools. Arne Duncan's March today will be another band-aid on cancer.

A National report details the atrocious failure of Public Schools. Chicago's failure is not in this AP Report. That will come out after - Chicago Public Schools reap more millions from my pocket, your pocket, your neighbors pocket and get to hear more Arne Duncan nonsense about this being 'Our Problem!' Click my Post Title for the AP Report on our crumby Public Schools. Arne thinks busing kids down to the State Offices at Thompson Center will let out the waste and the ineptitude on his shrinking coat.

You wear this jacket Arne. It is a snug fit.

Until, and only until States - like Illinois, adopt real and genuine School Choice for all Citizens. Get ready for more homicides and get ready for more waste of time Marches!

Only One Candidate for President Supports School Choice - John McCain.

John McCain: Honor and Redemption

JOHN MCCAIN 2008 LAUNCHES NEW WEB AD: "AMERICAN HEROES"

For Immediate Release
Contact: Press Office

Tuesday, April 1, 2008
703-650-5550


ARLINGTON , VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released a new web ad. The ad, entitled "American Heroes," tells the story of John McCain's Episcopal High School teacher and football coach, William B. Ravenel, who had a profound impact on his life. The ad details the honor code John McCain has faithfully lived his life by, taught first by his parents and reinforced by Mr. Ravenal in high school.

"American Heroes" is scheduled to appear on national news and information websites.

VIEW THE AD HERE: Click my post titel for the immediate link!
Script For "American Heroes" (1:40-Web)

ANNCR: Our heroes help tell the story of America .

We know them well.

They've been inventors, athletes, rock-stars and presidents

They inspire us to dream.

Make the right choices.

Live up to their example.

But it's not always the famous who inspire us.

Sometimes the heroes we need are right in front of us.

For John McCain, one of his heroes was in the front of his high school classroom.

William B. Ravenel was that hero.

He was the English teacher and football coach who inspired students to live the honor code.

"I shall not lie

I shall not cheat

I shall not steal

And I shall turn in the student who does."

The teacher who believed in exoneration and redemption.

When one of John McCain's classmates violated the rules and admitted to the infraction.

It was John McCain who declared that forgiveness was the best remedy.

Mr. Ravenel was the teacher who helped John McCain understand honor and redemption.

In his days of learning, John McCain realized that teaching is among the most honorable professions.

The honor code in high school was much the same as the honor code John McCain's life taught him.

For John Sidney McCain, the honor code taught by his parents and reinforced by Mr. Ravenal in high school was just the beginning. ...

John McCain: Only Candidate Leads on School Choice

On the Endangered list - Any Progressive Voices wish to Call People to Action? Naw, there's no Tax-money in it for you!

The Archdiocese of New York and Brooklyn are closing Catholic Schools at an alarming rate. Click my post title for the story -

The greed of the Public School Lobby is only matched by the horrific incompetance intrinsic to that vice.

Public Schools in Chicago are mega million dollar sink holes, but also a handy political platform that allows politicians and activists, who directly benefit from these tax-funded atrocities attended by children and young adults, to rail and howl over homicides and anything but educational failure.

Crane High School was put on national spotlight when it was closed due to the murder of a student there - only to be followed by the death of an 18 year old student at Simeon High School. More money to Public Schools will be the answer to homicides, childhood pregnancies, morbid obesity, and the heart-break of psoriasis.

Public Schools control the tax dollar-thermostat for Chicago, Cook County and Illinois homeowners. There are no grown-ups puting a lock on that control.

School Choice and Competition for Quality of instruction is only way to stop the Public School Lobby from cranking up the furnace in which Illinois tax-dollars are burned up - passing the costs on to you the consumers.

John McCain is for School Choice - No Democratic Candidate is for School Choice.

Click my post title and read about the consequences of the nearly forty years of bondage served by New York Taxpayers to Public School Lobby and the largely Democratic politicians enthralled to its will.

It is time for Leadership on School Choice. It is Time for McCain.

John McCain on School Vouchers and Choice:

Vouchers needed where teachers fail
McCain believes school vouchers should be available to parents in order that they may place their children in the best learning environment for their particular needs. He feels that each and every child in every classroom deserves a teacher who is qualified and enthusiastic about teaching. “Some people just aren’t meant to be teachers, and we should help them find another line of work. Because if teachers can’t teach, our kids can’t learn.”
Source: www.mccain2000.com/ “Position Papers” 5/24/99 May 24, 1999

John McCain: Air America's Mark Green - What Being an A$$hole is All About

Mark Green's Bio:

Mark graduated with honors from both Cornell University School of Arts & Sciences (1967) and then Harvard Law School (1970), where he was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.

Becoming a member of the Washington, D.C. Bar (and later the New York State Bar), he spent 10 years in the 1970s working with Ralph Nader, ultimately running Public Citizen's Congress Watch, the largest consumer lobbying group in D.C. In 1982, The Nation magazine said, "Next to Nader himself, Mark is the leading public interest lawyer of his generation." . . . yada, Yada . . . ( Yada Yaddas my own)

On March 1, 2007, he became the president of Air America Radio.

Next to Ralph Nader?? Most folks want to miles from Ralph Nader. This clown is a creme puffe!

I see his Tanned Own Bad Self on Cable - with way too much frequency. He must have sued more orphans and old ladies in New York than Leona Helmsly and has the cash cow to allow Mark Green ( he's got that 'Papal Me' third person about him that is the hallmark of all truly and highly competitive anal apertures) entree to the circles of jerks within the Democratic National Committee.

In fact Mark Green is an anal aperture of such diameter that he now columnizes on Huffington Post the Cry Sheet for Hollywood Morons and Progressive Goebbels.

Here's the Tan Green's thesis on John McCain:

Now that John McCain last week elaborated his economic and foreign policy views in major addresses, the weakness of his candidacy is clear: it's not that he'll be 72 if inaugurated but has a 72 year-old agenda. If you like gunboat diplomacy and pre-Depression laissez-faire economics, McCain is your bridge to the 19th Century.

While the spotlight currently focuses on clashing Democrats, the mainstream media has lazily bought into the narrative that McCain is a straight-talking maverick, just as so many concurred that W was a compassionate uniter in 2000. But when it comes to war, economics and ethics -- as our 7 Days program discusses -- the Republican nominee is now no straight-talker and no maverick.

This from an Ambulance Chaser! Here's more Yada Yadda . . .

McCain's maniacal repetition of buzz phrases -- "the surge is working! we are winning! surrender is betrayal! -- expose him as a militarist itching for more war-war, not more jaw-jaw, in Churchill's phrase. Yes, he served honorably and heroically in Vietnam and has experience after decades in the Congress. But based on his catastrophic misjudgments in the Middle East and his unwillingness to learn much of anything from America's failures in Vietnam and Iraq, he's flunked the so-called Commander-in-Chief test. By urging more troops and more years, he's out-Bushing Bush. Some maverick.


A Jack and Queen, Mark, that is some Maverick! McCain's maniacal repetition of buzz phrases - expose him as a militarist????

Let's see. 'Fired up, ready to Go! Ready to Go! Yes we Can!' Yes We Can! Warmonger Barry!

Then the Shyster tries to dodge the punch that he himself is tossing:
McCain's Ethics:

But that 20-year-old episode alone should not be enough to tarnish him now. His work since then on McCain-Feingold and against Jack Abramoff deserves praise. But there are other current examples of helping those who help him in give-to-get politics, as when the FCC chair reprimanded him for interfering in a proceeding on behalf of a big donor and patron. Shades of 5 percenters in the Truman years.

'Zounds! Shocking! A Reprimand? Howls of Scorn! Arianna Huffiapoulus put Master Thespian Steven Weber ( Star of what?///) on this! - BTW - Huff Po is a veritable Who's Snooze of Hollywood - kind of talent Petrified Forest Gumps.

Mark's Seven Day campaign against John McCain! Seven more days of this? Oh, How will John McCain stand up to such treatment??? Merciful Marigolds, Margaret!

For more Tan Green giggles - Pipe the U-tube piece of Mark Green begging for votes from savvy New Yorkers during one of his many defeats - click my post title for a full view of this Yutz! Next to Nader? Why Mark Green - You Stand Alone!! Que Queso, Hombre!

Mark keep tossing the Beachballs!!! Air America - It Fills the Balloons!

Gabby Barry Obama's Cracker Barrel Funhouse - Set a Spell!

'Right There's Where the Big Man went Back into the sea . . .'


Hat Tip to John Rubery - Marthon Pundit


Click my post title for the whopper yarned up by Gabby Barry back in Atlanta a while back - after a new snappy yarn around Gabby Barry's Cracker Barrel!


http://marathonpundit.blogspot.com/


Why, pull up a cracker barrel and let Old Gabby Barry spin a whopping good yarn that'll tickle yer funny bones and melt your hearts . . .Well, you see now, it was way back in '69, when my Pappy went a lobster prospectin' offa Martha's Vineyard Hawaii, I was just a sprat then, ya see and I mighta gotta couple a couplets just a . . .tad off'n this here drama-poem . . . let's see, now . .

Ol' Pap Obama borry'd a skiff that leaked like the Bush Administration when Scooter had couple a pulls from the Old Clay Keg, ya see ( Old Gabby Barry pulls out and snaps open a Buck knife and commences to whittle away at a piece of driftwood) and that old skiff 'n he rode out through the surf offa Nantucket, Hawaii. Surf was particular sharp and durn'd if that Ol Skiff didn't sprung a leak and the Atlantic -Pacific Ocean started a bubblin' up through the planks and Pap set to all the balin' and a whupping the wet stuff up over the gunwhales and the waters wouldn't help none 'cuz they was that determined to have Ol Pap. Pap was a By-God Kenyan and No Kenyan'll allow that old bubbly stuff to stop him. No, Sir!

Well Sir, ( Gabby Barry sets down the driftwood and goes snake-eyed) the Atlantic-Pacific said "She'd have Pap - the Ol Sea-Witch Herself!

Pap, weren't a swimmer; and he was an Economics Major Lobstering Man! Down the Old Ocean pulled Pap!

Pap went into what he thought was a dream - he dreamed of a Huge black car a flyin' like a BOAC 727! A Huge Black 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont 88. And down in the foamy brine it plunged! SA WHOSH! Down into the foamy brine! A Giant of Man popped through a busted window of the '67 Delmont and swam like a Mark IV Torpedo straight to where Pap Obama - a Kenyan Lobstering' Economics Man - was sinking to Davvy Jones' Locker.

Down Pap Obama went and he thought he's gonner when he's grabbed by the powerful fist of this mighty man around the scruff of Pap's brand new White Arrow Shirt Size 14 1/2" collar - Pap was wiry.

Pap was groggy and poppin' in and out of his dreamy state. He sorta came to . . . and saw the Huge Man with Thick curly hair and a Manly Jaw-line that woulda done Tom Mix Proud, Sir!

The Man was not even wet.

Pap managed 'Thankee, Stranger.' But the Big Man Moved off to the Surf Again.

'Where to Friend?,' yelled Pap.

'Gotta Go, Mary Jo . . .' and into the crashing surf offa Martha's Vineyard Hawaii disappeared the BIGGEST MAN Pap would ever hope to meet. That Big Man Saved Pap's Bacon! Pap give up the bacon - an all manner of pork with time -but Pap was a-mighty troubled.

'Why'd that Big Feller call me Mary Jo? My Name's Barry Senior! Ain't that wonderment?'

Well young 'uns. I'm done with my yarn and done a whittlin' this here $100 Dime outta this here driftwood an' it's got Ol Pap's likeness on it. Can I make Change, or what, young fellers? Now, scat - listen to yer folks, eat yer vegetables, mind yer manners, an believe ever' word ya here on MSNBC- The Tool Shed! Now, scat and get to yer chores! See you all, next week, around Gabby Barry's Cracker Barrel!

John McCain: That's the Ticket -Jack and Charlie, or Jack and Bob?

Picking a VP for the winning ticket in 2008 will be troublingly nice work for John McCain over the next few months.

With several solid choices in his quiver, Senator McCain will choose an able and loyal # 2 Executive to help him lead America during this time of War on Islamist Terror. Solid legislative leaders and thoughtful statesmen who have worked with the honor and integrity of John McCain are coming into the mix.

I like Charlie Crist, Governor of Florida, who was off the dime in John McCain's Camp long before the snarlers of the extreme Right could ever be brought to service. I value loyalty and commitment and Charlie Crist has the Facta where others shout out the Verba.

Chicago Sun Times veteran correspondent and one of the best political journalists in America, Bob Novak, like Bob Portman of Ohio.

Click my post title for Bob Novak's prescience and declarative sentences. The world needs more writers like Novak who delivers crisp and clear information in simple declarative sentences. The DNC enjoys the purple prose of goofs who do a Thomas V. Pynchon routine with every post.


Here's some good prose from Novak:

While Sen. John McCain will not decide on a vice president for many months, Rob Portman gets the highest marks inside the Republican presidential candidate's organization.

Portman's background is legislative, serving in the House Republican leadership as a representative from Ohio; executive and economic, serving in George W. Bush's Cabinet as director of the Office of Management and Budget, and diplomatic, serving as U.S. trade representative. He comes from Ohio, a swing state, is young enough at 52 to contrast McCain, and conservative enough, earning an 89 percent lifetime American Conservative Union rating.

Jeremiah Wright -Well Past Time to Get Right with Italian- Americans, But Never Too Late!

Had Barack Obama's Pastor been introduced to the warmth, style, grace, devotion, patriotism, charity and musical genius of Italian Americans, he might not have uttered the ugly, bitter, hateful slurs against these great Americans.

Click my post title and pass this along to Rev. Jeremiah Wright - it is never too late.


Obama's Pastor Slurs Italians in Latest Magazine
By Penny Starr
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
March 26, 2008

(CNSNews.com) - Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago where Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has been a member for two decades, slurred Italians in a piece published in the most recent issue of Trumpet Newsmagazine.

"(Jesus') enemies had their opinion about Him," Wright wrote in a eulogy of the late scholar Asa Hilliard in the November/December 2007 issue. "The Italians for the most part looked down their garlic noses at the Galileans."

Wright continued, "From the circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth (in a barn in a township that was under the Apartheid Roman government that said his daddy had to be in), up to and including the circumstances surrounding Jesus' death on a cross, a Roman cross, public lynching Italian style. ...

"He refused to be defined by others and Dr. Asa Hilliard also refused to be defined by others. The government runs everything from the White House to the schoolhouse, from the Capitol to the Klan, white supremacy is clearly in charge, but Asa, like Jesus, refused to be defined by an oppressive government because Asa got his identity from an Omnipotent God."

Every issue of the magazine published last year included Wright's column, "The Message," in which he covered a range of subjects, including his views on other African-American churches as expressed in his April 2007 commentary "Facing the Rising Sun."

"In a world that is controlled by white supremacy, in a country that is on its way to hell in a hand basket because of lying politicians, in a culture that still thinks 'white is right' and with young people who do not have a clue as to our story, our history, our legacy or our destiny, we still have African-American Christians who are more concerned about 'bling bling' than about freeing our minds," Wright wrote.

In a nationally broadcast speech on March 18, Obama distanced himself from Wright by saying he "condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy." But Obama also said, "I could no more disown him than I could disown the black community."

According to his federal income tax return for 2006, Obama gave the Trinity United church that year $22,500 in contributions.

The Clinton campaign has not commented on the controversy, but in an interview Tuesday with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) said actions speak louder than words.

"He would not have been my pastor," Clinton said. "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend.

"You know, I spoke out against Don Imus (a radio talk show host who was fired for making racially insensitive remarks about black female basketball players at Rutgers University), saying that hate speech was unacceptable in any setting, and I believe that," Clinton said.

"I just think you have to speak out against that. You certainly have to do that, if not explicitly, then implicitly by getting up and moving," she added.

Trumpet Newsmagazine started publication in the 1980s in Chicago and distribution expanded in March 2006 to several other cities, with broader circulation through subscriptions. On the magazine's masthead, Wright is named as the magazine's CEO and Wright's daughter, Jeri Wright, is the publisher.

Requests for comments from Jeri Wright, the magazine's marketing staff, and the Obama campaign were not answered by press time.

The last Trumpet to be published was the November/December edition, a double issue that featured a remembrance of "Pan-Africanist" Hilliard and a profile of Louis Farrakhan, who was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement "Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Trumpeter" award at the magazine's 25th anniversary gala late last year.

Farrakhan has called Judaism a "gutter religion" and said Jews are "bloodsuckers," as reported in The New York Times.

Trumpet Newsmagazine also included myriad articles and regular features geared toward the black community, ranging from health, parenting, music and the arts, to profiles of successful members of the community and tips on everything from dating to spiritual well-being.

Many political observers have said that Obama's speech last week limited the damage of the ongoing Wright controversy, but others say the issue is continuing to hamper his campaign.

"I don't think it's going to go away," Ralph Reed, a long-time conservative activist and political strategist who now runs Century Strategies based in Duluth, Ga., told Cybercast News Service.

"Because while Obama's speech was thoughtful and eloquent, it didn't address the central issue, and that's why he would have someone as such a close spiritual advisor with such extreme views," Reed added.

"Let me be clear," Reed added. "I don't think any candidate should have to answer for the theological views of their pastor, church or denomination. But (Wright's) were not theological views, but political statements."

"I think it's more likely to be a serious issue in the general election, more than in the primaries," Reed said.

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200803/POL20080326a.html

Mike Houlihan's Tapioca -The Movie! at First Take Film Festival in Augusta, GA!

Chicago's south side Pride and Own - Mike Houlihan, wit, actor, writer, director, producer, boulevardier, John McCain Backer, free-spender, serial philanthropist, pugilist, patron of the arts,boulevardier, numismatist, and gum arabic Connoisseur announces

Hi Everybody


Our independent feature film, Tapioca, starring Ben Vereen & Tim
Kazurinsky, has been invited to screen at the First Take Film Festival
in Augusta, Georgia from April 8-12th. That's the same week as the
Masters Golf Tournament at Butler National. Is that cool or what! Come
with us! We'd love to have all Chicago pals come to Augusta for the
screening. Check out the festival at
http://www.firsttakefilmfestival.com. Also our website,
www.TapiocaTheMovie.com.

See you in Augusta, the A-U-G!
Mike Houlihan

Code Stupid Part VIII - Donte Smith One of the Catholic Schoolgirls for Peace

Click My post title for a profile on Donte Smith one the Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War who sprayed blood on worshippers at Holy Name Cathedral this past Easter Sunday.

He is part of the Solidarity network used by ISM's Kevin Clark.

http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/135986/index.php

The actions of the Catholic School Girls Against the War was a test.

The network of radical leftists that planned and staged this act of domestic terrorism and desecrated the Sacrament of the Eucharist with a Hate Crime is gearing up for a more horrific 'action.'

Kevin Clark of International Solidarity Movement has already created martyrs in Gaza and is complicit in the deaths of people in the Middle East.

The Office of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service, Cook County States Attorney, Illinois Attorney General, Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weiss, Illinois Secretary of State, and every Legal professional in the employ of the Archdiocese of Chicago must put full scrutiny on this network beginning with Kevin Clark and ISM, but also,
IndyMedia
Hamer Hard Media Works
Illinois Peace Justice Coalition

for starters.

Code Stupid Part-VII - Easter Attack Was Only a Test

Here is a salient point concerning future acts of terror by the Network that the Chicago Tribune's Stacey St. Clair told me in a phone conversation 'that we have no interest at this time in pursuing' -


The Chicago Police Department is getting tired. And the people of Chicago are taking notice of the growing effectiveness of anti-war actions. This effectiveness is contributing to citywide movements to pass legislation in the city that states the city will oppose a preemptive attack on Iran. It is fueling desires for more leaders to be outspoken on the war in Iraq.

The Network that planned and executed the terror attack on worshippers at Holy Name Cathedral this past Easter Sunday continues its war on America.

International Solidarity Movement - Kevin Clark ISM's Chicago Director is head of the effort - it seems. Kevin Clark was intrumental in getting people killed in Gaza in 2003.

Here is the full press statement by their spokeman - aniother Kevin:

March 24, 2008

Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War Disrupt Easter Mass

By Kevin Gosztola


At this moment, updates on the action are coming in regularly. The latest is that, according to one of the defendant's lawyers, at least one of the activists is being spat upon by the guards. Guards are also encouraging other inmates to "mess with" and abuse the defendant. As soon as enough funds can be raised, the activist being spat on will be the next activist bailed out of jail.

Those conducting jail solidarity for the activists are asking that people from the Chicagoland area willing to help bail the activists out of jail monetarily contact Tim Salemme at (773) 759 - 8399 to arrange a donation or email holyname6@riseup.net.

Now for those unaware of what started all of this or how several members of the antiwar movement in Chicago became involved in a battle to bail activists out of jail so they are not abused or "messed with", the story is as follows.

Six members of the anti-war group "Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War" staged a dramatic die-in on Sunday during the 11 AM Easter mass at Holy Name Cathedral. The group, in addition to calling for an immediate end to the illegal and immoral war in Iraq, decried Cardinal George's January 7th meeting with Chicago's Mayor Daley and President Bush.

Holy Name Cathedral is Chicago's largest parish and one where Chicago's most prominent Catholic citizens attend. The protesters knew these people would be in attendance and knew that press, which usually extensively cover the services, would be present when the "die-in" was conducted.


Easter services at Holy Name are traditionally one of the most heavily attended masses of the year, and this mass was no exception, with people packed wall to wall for today’s Easter morning holiday service.
The group of young activists, dressed in their Easter best, sat through the 11AM mass until George reached the homily. A few seconds into the cardinal’s main holiday message, the protesters rose from their seats, turned to address the thousands of parishioners in the auditorium, and talked about the continuing death of both Iraqis and Americans in Iraq as the war enters its sixth year.


The protesters then laid down in the aisles and discharged packets of fake blood that covered them in red. Stunned ushers rushed in after a moment or two to try to remove the protesters, and also brought in some Chicago police officers who were stationed in the lobby to help with traffic control for the overflow crowd. The protesters did NOT resist arrest, agreeing to stand up and walk out of the auditorium, where they were subsequently arrested by cops outside.
During a ten minute wait for the police to show up, the activists conducted a series of media interviews with local television outlets. When the police arrived, the cuffed protesters were loaded and taken to an area police station.

On Monday, the activists attended a hearing. The details, which happen to be posted in the comments section of this article, show just how hard the system is working to make an example of these activists.


(The) hearing was in regards to charges of felony defacement of property
at a place of worship in excess of $300; that makes the charge a Class III
felony. The fake blood allegedly used in the action stained the
auditorium's carpet and 14 chairs, incurring a $400 cleaning bill.
According to the prosecuting attorney, the cleaning failed and the carpet
will need to be replaced at a cost of $3000. Special conditions have been
set for all the arrestees which prevent them from having any contact with
Cardinal George, Holy Name Cathedral, or the area of 735 N. State Street.

The bond for Ephran, Regan, Mercedes, Ryane, and Angela is set at $25,000
each. Donte's bond is set at $35,000. In order to be bailed out, each
arrestee needs to post 10% of their bond. All told, we need to raise
$16,000.

All arrestees are scheduled to appear in court at Branch 42 on March 31st.

The six activists were put back in jail and people began mobilizing to get these young patriots out of jail. After all, as many will attest to, it was a nonviolent direct action. Being disruptive was the point and making a point, which they did, was also the plan. That this action was effective and that it has produced this editorial from Kathy Kelly (which can be found in the comments section) is a testament of how great of an action it was.

Dear Editors,

The six activists who raised their voices, during Cardinal George's Easter homily in Holy Name Cathedral, recalled suffering and carnage caused by the war in Iraq. They screamed. They poured "stage blood." They fell to the floor.

Under U.S. occupation, and as a result of U.S. economic sanctions and military war waged since 1991, Iraqis have seen horrific bombings outside and within their worship places, along with the physical and social destruction of their country. Iraqis have endured mass killing, kidnappings, torture, incarcerations without cause, and an almost complete breakdown of vital infrastructure services including electricity, sewage treatment, and health care delivery.


Take Action Now --- Call Cardinal George and demand charges are dropped: 312-751-8230 and submit letters of support to the local newspaper, Chicago Tribune

In the U.S. and in Iraq, arms ache for loved ones who will never return. Yet many of us may feel numb, even forgetful, regarding the terrible cost of this war. The Easter Sunday action at the cathedral gave us an opportunity to remember that we are a nation at war and to consider ways to follow Jesus' teachings, --to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, heal the sick, love our enemies and bless the peacemakers.

Many thanks to the courageous folks who participated in the action at the Cathedral on Easter calling the church to take a real stand against the war, not just give it lip service.

This was an action that was a gift to the peace movement. It was something to help it reenergize and reform the events the movement plans. (Some peace groups are still planning events as follow-ups to the recruitment center actions in Berkeley which occurred at the end of January and in the beginning of February. They were desperate for something new to happen that they could respond to.)

This action called into question Cardinal George (who still sees George W. Bush as a person worth holding meetings with even though he has shown no sign of being willing to repent for his sins involving the people of Iraq and the people of America) and the Catholic establishment of Chicago.

Cardinal George is cited as saying (this too can be found in the comments section) after the protesters were dragged out of the church by security:


"And so should we all, call for peace. Peace, is of course, the salutation that the risen Lord brings to those whom he has called to witness to Him. Peace, I give you, because they were afraid, and therefore they need to be gifted peace."

"They were afraid, first of all, of Him, because they didn't recognize him at first. But, they were afraid also, as we all are, of our sinfulness and of the enormous difficulties that are incumbent upon working for peace in the world in different ways in which people see the need to work for peace."

"In that witness, I think we can be grateful to those who interrupted this holiday."


Watch the video at
http://chicago.indymedia.org/media/all/display/29168/index.php

And so, it would appear that the peace movement got Cardinal George to rhetorically show he supports these activists in some way. In fact, he has taken an odd stance against the Catholic activists saying something like he does not support them because they disrupted worship but had they not disrupted worship, he would be on their side 100%.

In the context of the fifth anniversary, this is a stunning and unexpected action that took place.

Chicago's peace activists were out in full force in March 19th's permitted march held at night through the city after a rally in downtown Chicago. The peace movement did not quit after the permitted march was over and police were led willy nilly around the city as primarily young activists marched down the sidewalk back towards downtown from the spot where the permitted march ended. The event ended at the ABC7 Chicago news station where activists disrupted business as usual for the ABC News team by making the point that they were partly responsible for the continuation of this Iraq war.

The following day, March 20th, a slew of creative actions occurred. From Chicago Indymedia, this gives you an idea of what the Chicago Police Department had to deal with before arresting the Holy Name 6:

The first action of the day came early in a typically briskly cold Chicago morning during rush hour, as five people hurled a banner that read, “We Heard You Malachi,” at the Millennium Flame near the Kennedy Expressway. The banner was referencing the peace martyr Malachi Ritscher, who killed himself in a public suicide meant to express opposition to U.S. war policies in Iraq. Traffic police reportedly intervened to put a stop to the action in which no arrests were made.

About ninety minutes later, four people locked themselves arm-to-arm in front of local Congressman Rahm Emanuel’s (D-IL) office on Irving Park Road in opposition to his stance on Iraq. The Chicago-based groups the Christian Peacemaker Teams and Voices for Creative Nonviolence were reported as being behind the action whose participants were apparently all arrested. Around the same time, the northbound lines Lake Shore Drive were blockaded by a group with an unknown affiliation of about a dozen people, which according to corporate news accounts, reportedly resulted in a traffic accident.

By around 1:30pm in the afternoon, eight people at Federal Plaza stepped into the lobby of Federal Plaza requesting the presence of State Senators. Seven people kneeled down until they were arrested, including the likes of Voices in the Wilderness activist Kathy Kelly, one of the speakers and organizers of the permitted march on Wednesday. Kelly is a veteran activist who previously traveled to Iraq as one of the “human shields” and has been arrested within the U.S. on many prior occasions for past anti-war activism; as a result, Kelly may face jail time because of this latest arrest.

Other non-violent actions and small demonstrations, including a protest against Raytheon at the University of Illinois at Chicago and another one waged by Columbia College students against a recruiting station, were also held throughout the day.

Thursday’s actions in Chicago were part of a larger week of civil disobedience waged all across the country. One of the first acts of civil disobedience was undertaken against Chevron and Iraq war policies by the U.S. last Saturday, where up to fifty protesters locked themselves together in front of an Chevron-owned oil refinery in Redmond, California. In downtown Washington D.C. on Wednesday, up to thirty people were arrested that blockaded an Internal Revenue Service building. Over two-dozen people were arrested in San Francisco on Wednesday as well, in the midst of a die-in that completely blocked Market street in the downtown area. Five protesters who staged a sit-in at a Federal building in Wooster, Massachusetts were also taken into custody by local police authorities and arrested on Wednesday.

The Chicago Police Department is getting tired. And the people of Chicago are taking notice of the growing effectiveness of anti-war actions. This effectiveness is contributing to citywide movements to pass legislation in the city that states the city will oppose a preemptive attack on Iran. It is fueling desires for more leaders to be outspoken on the war in Iraq.

Take Action Now --- Call Cardinal George and demand charges are dropped: 312-751-8230 and submit letters of support to the local newspaper, Chicago Tribune

With the 4,000th casualty, another church in the Chicago area held the second protest in two days (although this one was supported by the church leadership). On a wall at St. James Episcopal Church in Chicago, 4,000 black squares, each inscribed with the name of a fallen soldier, were hung as a reminder of those Americans who have been lost in this war.

Says Michael McConnell of the American Friends Service Committee:

"I think we're at the place where the war is becoming very frustrating to many in our society and that we're going to see escalating actions of non-violence because this war has gone on for too long."
The people are tired of waiting for the media and the politicians to take the necessary steps to preserve what's left of this democracy and begin repairing it so future generations of Americans can have a future. They see how we have let a recidivist war criminal run this nation and its principles into the ground and see how the media has been complicit by refusing to cover real news, which is news that is necessary for Americans to preserve their freedom and democracy.

And the people aren't waiting for November to possibly see this war ended maybe by a candidate that gave an antiwar speech in 2002. They are interrupting Easter masses and shutting down businesses that are supporting operations in Iraq because they know that the only way to end this war is to make business and life as usual impossible---so impossible that our leaders respond by immediately withdrawing troops from Iraq, issuing reparations to Iraqis, and giving our veterans all the benefits they were promised before being deployed.

Take Action Now --- Call Cardinal George and demand charges are dropped: 312-751-8230 and submit letters of support to the local newspaper, Chicago Tribune


United States Office of Homeland Security, Cook County States Attorney, Illinois Attorney General, Illinois Secretary of State, Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weiss, Archdiocese of Chicago Law Office Take Action Now!

The Chicago News Media is not about to.

John McCain: Let's Play Screwball with Daffy Dean!

“The Democrats Call McCain's Military Service Opportunistic”

--Redstate.com - Click my post title!

Hat Tip to Patrick Hynes and also the Lads at Redstate about this oily nonsense from Dean The Scream! RED STATE: You can tell the ad hit home by Howard Dean's reaction. Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, calls John McCain an opportunist for using images of his military service:



What a Mah-roon! What a Dope! What a Leader! Dean the Scream!

Get this! The DNC with Daffy Duck Dean at the Helm- Yes, Alice, The Ship of Fools - has issued this statement

“While we honor McCain's military service, the fact is Americans want a real leader who offers real solutions, not a blatant opportunist who doesn't understand the economy and is promising to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years." … Dean is so worried by the contrast of the Republican nominee to be, looking very presidential, while the Democratic presidential wannabees are engaging in nothing senseless negativity, he told CBS News that the superdelegates need to decide whether Hillary or Obama gets the Democratic nomination before July. Dean wants to avoid the appearance that the Democratic nominee was chosen in a back room deal by party insiders even though that is exactly what they will do. And Dean has the nerve to call McCain an "opportunist."

You are a Howl Deano! Almost better than Warner Brothers cartoons - almost! Make sure that boys and girls keep you loaded on Zoloft and that the cinches to the old white burlap jacket are good and snug!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Marathon Pundit -John Rubery Fools Hickey Again! Where's My Free Mumia?

I stood in line for hours -hours mind you, Rubery, and I never got my FREE MUMIA!


Without doubt one of the most thoughtful and energetic Websites - Marathon Pundit continues to knock the crap out of Chicago journalism ( no mean task that) by keeping the light of fact and truth shining on dangerous radicals infecting academia ( Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorhn - of UICC and Northwestern Law though convicted domestic terrorists), religion ( the garlic and challah hating Pastor Jeremiah Wright) and politics ( politicians of both Republican and Democratic Parties who commerce with such dangerous folks) - especially, the not-ready-for - the Presidency Senator Barack Obama.

John Rubery does great service to Chicago, Illinois and America!

Click my post title and get your FREE MUMIA - It don't cost nothing.

Code Stupid, Part VI: Snow Runs Off The Committed Mopes from Last Night's Action at Cardinal's Residence

My Godson, Bart, questioned the choice of 'domestic terrorist' in describing the violent assault on worshippers this past Sunday at the Easter Mass of Holy Name Cathedral by The Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War. Bart is a wonderful and thoughtful young man. Yep, domestic terrorist works here. Any act of violence perpetrated upon persons with no direct involvment in policy, strategy, or tactical involvement in any conflict is an act of terror. Bart thought that I have been watching too much Fox Cable News - Bill-O, Hannity, and that crew - the guys that Hate McCain. Not so, young nephew. I watch only local news NBC Channel 5, because the only news person with any brains or integrity is Mary Ann Ahern. But for comic relief, I tune in to the clown opera at MSNBC - The Tool Shed. MSNBC has more Tools on hand than the Sears Hardware Outlet on 111th Street.

Yesterday, the network sent out a press release calling for an 'Action' at Cardinal George's residence.

Didn't happen - the snow covered the commitment. 'These are Times that Try Men's Souls' and snow and Chicago wind off of LaSalle Drive and State parkway is tough on the timid.

Here is a report on the activities of the radical network that sparked the Easter Guerrilla Theatre:

First, we should examine the base element of the Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War and their supporters.

Catholic School Girls Against the War
The website for the Illinois Coalition for Peace and Justice (which evidently hosts the group’s Internet presence) describes the group as:

“...a humorous, political street theatre group composed of college students and young adults.”

It is obvious to even the most intellectually challenged that the designation “street theatre group” is an attempt to inoculate their actions; an attempt to re-define any of their civil disobedience – criminal acts – as “theatre.”

As far as the “humorous” description goes, I suppose humor is in the eye of the beholder, although I don’t believe that any of the young children in attendance at Holy Name Cathedral, children who were frightened by the actions of this group – in their place of worship, a place that is meant to provide sanctuary, found the splattering of fake blood and shrieks of agenda-driven insolence “humorous.”

Illinois Coalition for Peace & Justice
In their Structure & Statement of Values, the Illinois Coalition for Peace & Justice, which is linked to the Progressive Democrats of America website, claims their organization:

“...models a just and peaceful society...[resolving] to use our work in the Illinois Coalition for Peace and Justice as a model of equal and supportive relationships in a peaceful and just society...”

The ICPJ is by definition an anti-war protest organization. Where they claim to act as a coordinating organization, they facilitate the activities of a number of activist groups, including the American Muslim Council, the Campus Anti-War Network and Code Pink, to name just three.

Interestingly, their Structure & Statement of Values declaration says they:

“...work in common for: alternatives to militarism, global community, lives of active nonviolence, human rights for all, preservation of the environment...”

By disrupting a religious service and, in the process, creating fear among children and angst among adults, it is hard to see how the ICPJ – through its member organization, the Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War – promoted any of these tenets and/or values, especially “global community,” “nonviolence” or “human rights.”

International Solidarity Movement
The organization that sent a representative to act as a “witness” for the protesters, the International Solidarity Movement, is an anti-war organization but only where the United States and the West are concerned. In fact, it can be argued that they are vehemently anti-Western and anti-American.

The International Solidarity Movement is, according to Discover the Networks,

“...a radical, anti-Israel organization that recruits Westerners to travel to Israel to obstruct Israeli security operations...[they justify] Palestinian terrorism against Israeli civilians...”

Though the organization claims to adhere to a commitment to non-violence, its members openly call for the "liberation of Palestinians by any means necessary...[including] legitimate armed struggle."

One of the groups officials, Hisham Jam Joun, a veteran of the Marxist-Leninist terror group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, led pro-Palestinian protests against the Israeli security barrier.

In 2003, two British nationals executed a suicide bombing in an Israeli bar that killed three people and wounded more than 50. In the course of their investigation into the bombing Israeli officials discovered that the bombers had met with International Solidarity Movement leaders just prior to carrying out the attack. This prompted the Israeli government to formally accuse the organization of maintaining ties to Palestinian terror entities. Said one IDF officer:

“...as far as we are concerned, ISM is not an international organization or a peace organization. It's a pro-Palestinian organization, set up by Palestinians, funded by Palestinians and linked to Palestinian terror."

In addition, the group continues to advocate for the release of Marwan Barghouti, a leader in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. Barghouti was convicted of committing acts of terrorism and with the murders of 26 people through the facilitation of several suicide bombing events that took place in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

To put it mildly, there is nothing peaceful about the International Solidarity Movement or their actions. The causes for which they advocate are about as far away from “humorous, political street theatre” as one can get.

The Question of Constitutional Rights
The violent, intolerant, hypocritical and narcissistic nature of these groups exposed, the facet of this story that is truly shocking is this: These intellectually stunted malcontents attempted to deny the people attending Catholic Mass at Holy Name Cathedral their constitutionally guaranteed right to practice their religion, yet charges to this affect are not being explored. Instead they are being charged with felony criminal damage to property and misdemeanor simple battery.

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution specifically states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

This guarantee of non-intervention by government with regard to religion, speech and assembly has been interpreted over the years to provide for the sanctity of religious practice, the protection of free speech and the inviolability of peaceable assembly.

By interrupting a religious service on its most holy of days (the resurrection of Christ, signified by the celebration of Easter, is the most glorified event in the Catholic faith, not Christmas, which signifies the birth of Christ) the Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War denied the parishioners their constitutional right to freely practice religion, they denied Cardinal Francis George his constitutional right to freedom of speech and religious practice and both their right to peaceably assemble.

That federal authorities are not exploring the possibility of charging, not only the six malcontents from Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War but the leaders of both the Illinois Coalition for Peace & Justice and the International Solidarity Movement, with violating the constitutional rights of the Cardinal and the parishioners of Holy Name Cathedral is a testimony to how little value we place on our constitutional rights, how delinquent we are in understanding the ideology behind our constitutional rights and our apathy in defending them when they are attacked.

Ingenuous protest is one thing and it is perfectly acceptable, but anarchist indignance goes beyond anything that can be deemed acceptable. Charge them, prosecute them and make an example out of them.

by Frank Salvato

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant, a freelance writer from the Midwest and the Managing Editor for www.TheRant.us . He is a contributing writer to OpinionEditorials.com and AmericanDaily.com. He has appeared as a guest panelist on The O’Reilly Factor and his pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com and occasionally featured in The Washington Times as well as other national publications.


http://www.opinioneditorials.com/guestcontributors/fsalvato_20080328.html

A young woman in New York, by the name of Katie O'Malley, offers this insight:

Once content to thump drums and dig deep for chants that rhyme, the “peace” movement’s foothold on the public soapbox has slipped. The peaceniks -- ANSWER, MoveOn.org, Code Pink and the rest -- are in the midst of very public identity crisis. They are facing, for the first time, visible and vocal opposition to both their words and their methods. And it has made them angry….very angry….angry enough to (pause for dramatic effect) use violence as an option!

As organizations have come together to face them in the streets (and have successfully released the left’s stranglehold on activism and the media) the lefties have revealed their inner violent streak to which they have always proclaimed an immunity.

We have certainly seen incidents of violence within the misnamed “peace” movement since its inception decades ago. These lovers of dialogue and group hugs have bombed buildings (just ask Obama’s “acquaintance” William Ayers of the Weather Underground), stormed institutions and screamed vile and evil comments to Vietnam Veterans, since they first began their activism. In Ayers memoir, “Fugitive Days,” he goes so far as to write, “I don’t regret setting bombs. I didn’t do enough.” At least he is honest about it. ( emphasis my own)
His disturbing perspective and the inherently un-peaceful legacy of the 1960s peace movement has been enthusiastically embraced by the newest generation, tutored by the aging hippies of yore.

A steady uptick in violence against the military has been unfolding in recent months. The recruiting station in Washington, DC at 14th & L, the site of a storming and trashing on February 15, received additional overtures of “peace” last week when rocks were thrown at the windows and the exterior of the building, DC Metro police and counter protestors there to support the recruiters, were covered in red paint lobbed at them. What happened to daisies? They don’t stain and they don’t hurt!

The Times Square recruiting station in New York was the site of a bombing on March 6. Recruiters in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Texas and Tennessee have all been the recipients of this special kind of leftist love in the last 12 months, just to name a few. Counter protestors in Berkley have not received hugs and love, but instead have been shoved and hit with signs proclaiming “Give Peace a Chance.”

Katie O'Malley of New York

Click my post title for more of Katie O'Malley's thoughts.

Obama's Uncle Jere - God Damn 'Mother Cabrini, Enrico Fermi, Father Groppi and Their Garlic Noses!

Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.

from Senator Barack Obama's March 18,2008 Lecture to America on Race Relations - One Day before St. Joseph's Day.

Okay. . . again.

Obama's got problems. His 'Crazy Uncle," Rev. Jeremiah Wright defames Italians in the magazine that he publishes and for which he Wrights a column.

Click my post title to read Pastor Wright's Wrongs.

The great theologian should consider these facts:


Two of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were of Italian descent: Maryland's William Paca and Delaware's Caesar Rodney. God Damn!

During the Civil War, the 39th New York Infantry consisted of 830 Italian Americans, known as "the Garibaldi Guard," who fought in the Union Army from Bull Run to Appomattox. Two Italian Americans also were Union generals: Brigadier General Francis Spinola and General Luigi Palma di Cesnola.

Fought to Fight Slavery!

God Damn!

The first American to be named a saint was the Italian American nun, Mother Frances Cabrini, who was canonized in 1946.

God Damn!

The only man in U.S. history to win the country's two highest military honors -- the Navy Cross and the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor -- was John Basilone, a U.S. marine who died during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.

God Damn!

Hank Luisetti - invented the one-handed layup in basketball .

Now, Hold On!

Barack Obama should have, but did not get out in front of his discipleship and friendship with a serial hater and bitter man.

Read more.

http://www.italian-american.com/famnot.htm