Steve Rhodes - Chicago Journalist: Cyrano De Bergerac of Beachwood

I love Liberals and there are darned fewer of them than there were when I started teaching English.

Liberals were often very well-educated and well-dis positioned men and women who looked to the human heart for the path to God. Liberals are Cyrano De Bergerac*!

Liberals did not need Decalogues, Doctrines or Dogmas rather they found the wholeness of human decency to be a Universal.

I am far too lazy a man to have been a Liberal and far too ignorant to be a Conservative. Conservatives have already devoured the books that I intend to read - witness Steve Jordan, Elias Crim, Tom Roeser, Dan Kelley and Max Weismann. Conservatives are St. Thomas More.

I feature some where far between such heroes - a combination of Bob Newhart/Stanley Kowalski.

One of the great Liberals - no Progressive ( a Dogmatic Dewey Spewer and faux-Hegalian flannelmouth) - in my circle of friends is journalist and Beachwood Reporter Publisher Steve Rhodes.

I began to admire this energetic young man's work, while I was teaching at La Lumiere School in the early 1990's. Steve Rhodes wants God's poor and unprotected safe and happy, but will not distort or destroy history to make that happen.

Recently Steve Rhodes had been a contributor to NBC.com Chicago. Along with Mary Ann Ahern, Steve Rhodes was one of my favorite Peacock Reporters.

Today, I learned of attempts by NBC to silence a journalist. Steve Rhodes has more integrity in his chin-whiskers than Peacock has lawyers.

Click my post title for a full account of Steve Rhodes' refusal to "Tickle the Horns of Mammon."

Here's a gem!

News organizations are the biggest hypocrites on the planet because they so often violate ethical standards - conflicts of interest, deception of the public - that they so often try to hold others to. Nothing is more disheartening to journalists who actually believe in what they do to hear of and confront and become entangled such untoward activities.

*

What would you have me do?
Seek for the patronage of some great man,
And like a creeping vine on a tall tree crawl
upward, where I cannot stand alone? No
thank you! Dedicate, as others do, Poems to
pawnbrokers? Be a buffoon
In the vile hope of teasing out a smile
On some cold face? No thank you! Eat a toad
For breakfast every morning? Make my knees
Callous, and cultivate a supple spine,-
Wear out my belly grovelling in the dust?
No thank you! Scratch the back of any swine
That roots up gold for me? Tickle the horns of
Mammon with my left hand, while my right,
Too proud to know his partner's -business,
Takes in the fee? No thank you! Use the fire
God gave me to burn incense all day long
Under the nose of wood and stone? No thank you!
Shall I go leaping into ladies' laps
And licking fingers? Or, to change the form-
Navigating with madrigals for oars,
My sails full of the sighs of dowagers?
No thank you! Publish verses at my own
Expense? No thank you! Be the patron saint
Of a small group of literary souls
Who dine together every Tuesday? No,
I thank you! Shall I labor night and day
To build a reputation on one song,
And never write another? Shall I find
True genius only among Geniuses,
Palpitate over little paragraphs,
And struggle to insinuate my name
In the columns of The Mercury!
No thank you! Calculate, scheme, be afraid,
Love more to make a visit than a poem,
Seek introductions, favors, influences? No
thank you! No, I thank you! And again
I thank you! But . . .
To sing, to laugh, to dream,
To walk in my own way and be alone,
Free, with an eye to see things as they are,
A voice that means manhood--to cock my hat
Where I choose-- At a word, a Yes, a No,
To fight--or write. To travel any road
Under the sun, under the stars, nor doubt
If fame or fortune lie beyond the bourne--
Never to make a line I have not heard
In my own heart; yet, with all modesty
To say: “My soul, be satisfied with flowers,
With fruit, with weeds even; but gather them
In the one garden you may call your own.”
So, when I win some triumph, by some chance,
Render no share to Caesar--in a word,
I am too proud to be a parasite,
And if my nature is not that which grows
Towering to heaven like the mountain pine,
Or like the oak, sheltering multitudes--
I stand, not high it may be--but alone!

God Bless Good Men!

The Women of St. Cajetan's Parish

In Praise of Strong Catholic Women


Three Gents were bar stooling at Keegan's Pub. As I quaffed a Lime Ricky, I overheard a trio of Catholic Southside Squires waxing poetic and poignant on the Life Marital*. These three worthies were crafting rodomontade about how they had given their wives duties. The first Hector had married a sweet woman from Faith, Hope and Charity parish way up in Winnetka whom he had met at St. Pat's World's Largest Street Party and waxed thrasonical that he had told his bride that she was going to do all the dishes and house cleaning. He said it took a couple days but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were done.



The second Punter had married a woman from Nativity Parish in Bridgeport. This St. Gabriel Parish raised Commodities Wizard bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. On that very first day, he didn't see any results, but the next day, it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done, and he had a huge dinner on the table.





The third Buckeen from St. Barnabas Parish married a girl from St. Cajetans Parish. The Boorish Buckeye told this Lady Warrior that her duties were to keep the house clean, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed, and hot meals on the table for every meal. Our Barnabian Burgomeister said that on the first day he didn't see anything near what he had ordained to be the Master's Will and on the second day he didn't see anything as well but by the third day most of the swelling had gone down, and he could see a little out of his left eye; enough to fix himself a bite to eat, load the dishwasher, and telephone Brian Hogan's Landscaping Services.

Hat Tip to Bob Hylard - Leo High School Class of 1946 & Leo Hall of Fame!


*Affirmation for Catholic Women

Because of the assaults against the Christian Faith and the family by elements within contemporary society which have led to pervasive moral confusion, to damage and destruction of families and the men, women and children who comprise them;

Because we adhere to the Catholic Christian faith as expressed in Holy Scripture, the Nicene, Apostolic and Athanasian Creeds, in the ecumenical Councils of the Church, and in the continued deepening of the understanding of the revelations of Sacred Truth to the Church by the Holy Spirit through the teaching authority of the Church and of the Successors of Peter, Apostle;

Because we wish to affirm our desire to realize our vocations and our duty as Christians and as women in accordance with these authentic teachings, following the example and instruction of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and the example of Mary, His mother;

Because we are cognizant of our obligations as Christian women to witness to our faith, being mindful that this witness is important to the formation of the moral conscience of our families and of humanity, we wish to make this affirmation:

1. We believe that through God's grace our female nature affords us distinct physical and spiritual capabilities with which to participate in the Divine Plan for creation. Specifically, our natural function of childbearing endows us with the spiritual capacity for nurture, instruction, compassion and selflessness, which qualities are necessary to the establishment of families, the basic and Divinely ordained unit of society, and to the establishment of a Christian social order.

2. We believe that to attempt to subvert or deny our distinct nature and role as women subverts and denies God's plan for humanity, and leads to both personal disintegration and ultimately to the disintegration of society. Accordingly, we reject all ideologies which seek to eradicate the natural and essential distinction between the sexes, which debase and devalue womanhood, family life and the nurturing role of women in society.

3. We affirm the intrinsic sacredness of all human life, and we reject the notion that abortion, the deliberate killing of unborn children, is the "right" of any human being, male or female, or of any government. Such a distorted and corrosive notion of individual freedom is, in fact, inimical to authentic Christianity and to the establishment and maintenance of a just social order.

4. We accept and affirm the teaching of the Catholic Church on all matters dealing with human reproduction, marriage, family life and roles for men and women in the Church and in society.

5. We therefore also reject as an aberrant innovation peculiar to our times and our society the notion that priesthood is the "right" of any human being, male or female. Furthermore, we recognize that the specific role of ordained priesthood is intrinsically connected with and representative of the begetting creativity of God in which only human males can participate. Human females, who by nature share in the creativity of God by their capacity to bring forth new life, and, reflective of this essential distinction, have a different and distinct role within the Church and in society from that accorded to men, can no more be priests than men can be mothers.

6. We recognize and affirm the vocations of women who subordinate their human role of motherhood and family life in order to consecrate their lives to the service of God, His Church and humanity. Such women's authentic response of consecrated service to the physical, spiritual and/or intellectual needs of the community in no way diminishes or compromises their essential female nature, or the exercise of inherent attributes, insights and gifts peculiar to women. Rather, it extends the applications of these gifts beyond the individual human family.

7. We stand with the Second Vatican Council, which took for granted the distinct roles for men and women in the family and in society and affirmed that Christian education must impart knowledge of this distinction: "In the entire educational program [Catholic school teachers] should, together with the parents, make full allowance for the difference of sex and for the particular role which Providence has appointed to each sex in the family and in society. (Declaration on Education, Sec. 8, paragraph 3, from Vatican II Documents, ed. Austin Flannery, 1981)

8. We pledge our wholehearted support to the teachings of Pope John Paul II concerning all aspects of family life and roles for men and women in the Church and in society, especially as contained in the Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio; and we resolve to apply the principles contained therein to our own lives, our families and our communities, God being our aid.

Copenhagen Again? Mr. President, You are 0-2 there. Go to Kankakee River State Park and Think Things Over.

"We are running short on time," he said. "We are ready to get this done today. But there has to be movement on all sides."

President Obama wants Health Care Something before Santa squeezes his cheeks down my Chimney.

Kim Jong Il put Obama's letter of concern about North Korean Aggression on his WI Golf. Oh yeah, he'll get back to you.

Send Troops! Cut Troops! Get Blacker Fast! Andy Stern is on the Red Phone! Card Check! Carbon Foot-Prints! Cap'n Trade! Tiger Can't Play Anymore! GW is looking Good! Saturday Night Live Tomorrow!

Chill.


You inherited this eight year mess from George Bush - we got it. Big Ed Schultz has it on 10.

Comb Over Dave and Rahm-a-Lama- Dang-Dong are pinching pectorals to make things look Okay, but things are bad.

Mr. President, five years ago you were a back-bencher in Springfield with a huge loss to Bobby Rush under your belt. You wanted to craft your biography. You did. However, you do not have much of a resume. Let's face it. Short Bus Sweeney could direct the Woods Fund. Send check to whomever Bill Ayers designates. Teach constitutional Law?
Not much of a stretch there, I'd say. I taught very low level American & British Lit. ( Breathing for Credit) to 37 Dukes of Hazard fans. That was taxing.

Nope. You can not rush things.

For instance, say Obama and his party had not muscled through a $787 billion stimulus package and spent nearly that much to rescue banks and car companies. Most experts say those steps averted the collapse of the U.S. economy. A collapse would have been, suffice it to say, far more upsetting to voters than the bailouts and deficit spending they are criticizing now.

Moving along to health reform, some pundits argue that Obama should have punted or gone small or written the darn bill himself to avoid the messy, irritating marathon now in progress. But delay or small ball would have left the field wide open for stories about health insurance horrors, Obama reneging on a central campaign pledge, and the general incompetence of Democrats. As for writing the bill himself, that came to naught for the Clintons in 1994. In any case, as many senators are now making perfectly clear, there is no way to control a senator who does not want to be controlled.

Obama has also raised expectations with his foreign trips, and as he headed for the Copenhagen climate summit, the Republican Party helpfully released an archive of negative assessments of his travels. On the other hand, what if Obama hadn't gone to Copenhagen in October to argue for a Chicago Olympics, or again this week to try to cement international progress on global warming? Then we would be hearing about how he might have made a difference but he didn't care, or he didn't try hard enough.

The truth is that presidents are hostages to fortune. George W. Bush had an 84 percent approval rating at this point in his first term because it was just after the 9/11 attacks. Obama is at the same level as Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, and that should be no surprise. All three inherited bad economies.

Yikes. Come home. Stay home for a while. Copenhagen - you are 0 and 2 - Chicago and the Climate Dodge. Mr. President, You are Willy Loman.

Go to Kankakee River State Park and sort things out over the Christmas Holidays.

Stop at Maple Tree Inn in Blue Island and treat the kids and Missus to Tommy's Smoked Ribs and smothered greens. Get the deep fried Green Tomatoes and Dill Pickles.

Pray.

Get some sleep. Fire some retainers. Start Anew.

Bobby Green 1973-2009 - God Bless Sharon & Paul Green

“Life is the soul's nursery -
Its training place for the destinies of eternity.” William Makepeace Thackeray


Bobby Green 1973-2009Posted by Joseph Ryan on Wed, 12/16/2009 - 17:15

The accomplished son of political professor Paul Green died recently after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.
Robert Green, 36, touched countless lives as the respected choral director at Fremd High School in the northwest suburbs.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Paul Green and his family.
The following is the obituary submitted by the Green family and below that is a recent article to appear in the Daily Herald:

Robert ‘Bobby’ Harris Green, age 36, a resident of Arlington Heights, Illinois passed away on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at his parents home in Chicago after a six and a half year battle with an inoperable brain tumor.
Bobby was the youngest candidate to be named Musical Director at Fremd high School at age 26 and thereafter served as Department Chairman for several years. Robert raised the quality of artistic performance and increased enrollment in the choir program at Fremd and was well respected in the district.
Bobby was the leading force enabling the Senior Fremd High School Choral Group to perform in a public concert at Carnegie Hall in 2002. He also organized concert tours in Europe and across the United State with his students where they sang at major cathedrals and theaters. His passion for music went beyond his students to even the parents who were recruited to sing with their children during holiday performances at Fremd. He arranged many of the pieces the choirs performed.
He was also known for having his Chamber Singers perform annually during the holiday season on WGN Radio. His friends looked forward to his annual formal ‘soirees’ at his home where they were required to perform serious and funny original songs.
Robert received the Principal’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at Fremd School and inspired hundreds of students to find careers in the field of music, both as teachers and performers. Facebook is alive with stories from his former students who credit Robert with their career success and passion for music.
Robert was a graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School, received two simultaneous bachelor degrees from the University of Illinois (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Chancellor Scholar and Bronze Tablet) and a masters in Music from Louisiana State University. From high school through grad school Robert won every school music contest he entered whether it was choir conducting or original variety shows.
He loved to travel and even during his last year managed to visit Hawaii, Alaska, New Mexico, Idaho and Germany and, two months ago, while in hospice care, drove with his family to Nebraska….reaching his goal of visiting all 50 states.
His parents, Sharon (Remaks) and Paul, and his sister Sarah Green of Newport Beach were at his side when his mighty fight for life ended. Throughout his diagnosis he spoke openly about his disease and raised over $30,000 dollars for brain cancer research through walks and special events. He is survived by grandfathers Sam Greenberg (Charlotte), Wilbert Remaks (Jeanne), aunts and uncles Bill and Jean Remaks, Howard and Christy Green, Rosalie Clark (William), Gloria and Shelley Welstein, Bob Welstein (Eleanor) and numerous loving cousins and friends throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.
He was privately cremated.
A public celebration of his life will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 9, 2010 at Fremd High School, 1000 South Quentin Road, Palatine, IL. A music education college scholarship has been established in his name at Fremd High School.
Donations can be sent to the Robert Green Music Scholarship Fund, Township District #211 Foundation, 1750 S. Roselle Road, Palatine, IL 60067-7336. Farewell to Bobby, in harmony.

Here is the Daily Herald's article:

Students involved in musical theater in the Palatine area have suffered a one-two punch, with the passing of a second musical director in just more than a week.

Fremd High School choral Director Robert Green died Saturday from brain cancer at the age of 36. His death came on the heels of losing Susannah Kist, 47, who died Dec. 4 of breast cancer and had directed hundreds of students through the Palatine Park District theater programs.

"We have a lot of kids here who are really suffering," said Lauren Dennhardt, Fremd drama club director and media center specialist.

Mr. Green directed four levels of choir at Fremd and served as musical director for its plays. He was the son of Paul Green, the WGN radio political commentator and director of Roosevelt University's School of Policy Studies.

"He was the most beloved teacher, who was absolutely adored by all the students and faculty," Dennhardt added. "He had this youthful understanding of the students, and just a great sense of fun."

Teaching at Fremd was Mr. Green's first job after earning his undergraduate degrees in music and psychology at the University of Illinois and a master's degree in music from Louisiana State University.

He began at the school in 1998, and numbers in its choral program soared under his direction, his colleagues say.

"He covered all the bases, teaching his students serious college literature to a taste of pop music," says David Lang, music department chairman. "This may have well been a university; that's how high the bar was that he achieved with his students."

Over the course of his career, two of his choirs received prestigious invitations to perform at the Illinois Music Educators Association All-State conference.

At Fremd, Mr. Green served for a short time as music department chair, and he also was the assistant variety show director.

One of his most endearing roles was as part of the production team, directing vocals for the student musical mounted each December.

A memorial service for Mr. Green, who grew up in south suburban Flossmoor, is being planned for Jan. 9 at Fremd.

Dithering Dick Durbin the Turban Trolling for Safe Prison Czar Spot?

If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime—Pol Pot or others—that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners.

Durbin the Turban 2005

I felt then, and still feel, that these policies were not reflective of American values.

Dithering Dick Durbin 2009

Shore Dew Look like Dithering Dick the Planned Parenthood Personally Prolife Parsing-Panda Panderer understands he is on short time as US Senator.

Roland Burris has eclipsed this unprincipled dope. Is Durbin the Turban sending messages to Rahm Emmanuel and Dave Axelrod that he wants to be the Safe-Prisons Czar?

Click me post title read this jerque's nonsense.

Terry O' Brien and Malraux the Boat Preckwinkle Sprinkles at Keegan's Pub

Discussing écrivain engagé, Andre Malraux with Smash McKenna at Keegan’s Pub during half-time of the Bears/Greenbay abortion, I quoted the author of La Condition humaine to make plain my point about the 4th Ward Alderman “There is always a need for intoxication: China has opium, Islam has hashish, the West has woman.”

It appears that Terry O'Brien will get the vote of many, many Cook County voters - nevertheless! Alas, as Andre Gide might offer!

As Mike Houlihan pointed out -

O’Brien has served as President of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, (MWRDGC), for 13 years and has served on the board of Commissioners for 21 years. He has overseen a budget in excess of $1 billion and runs one of the few government agencies in the State of Illinois to have an AAA bond rating from all three bond rating agencies.
O’Brien boasts of a “professional workforce”, because his employees are “hired for what they know and not who they know! They are required to take exams!”
Exams for public employees? Now that’s an idea that should strike fear into the heart of every loafer who ever picked up a paycheck from the county payroll. Maybe we should start holding exams for public office.
If an administrative exam were given for President of the Cook County Board could all the candidates pass? Would they ask to be graded on a curve? And who in the world would be grading these exams? Hopefully it wouldn’t be Todd Stroger’s cousin.
If Terry O’Brien can get his message out to all Cook County voters we might actually turn the corner on the ineptitude of the last few years. O’Brien represents the best opportunity for greater financial accountability and real leadership for the Cook County Board. He says, “I want to do for Cook County what I have done for the Water Reclamation District.”
It sure would be nice to wake up some morning next year and know that there is a professional in charge. If the electorate has the opportunity to learn more about Terry O'Brien, Cook County's days of misery may soon be over. Let's hope so.

Nevertheless the heady words of earnest activist polemicist Malraux popped out from my discourse - " Smash let me offer this from Malraux, 'The great mystery is not that we should have been thrown down here at random between the profusion of matter and that of the stars; it is that from our very prison we should draw, from our own selves, images powerful enough to deny our nothingness.'"

To which pipe-coverer McKenna cocked an eye-brow and rejoined, ” You poor simple Sonavabitch Hickey, it is not the need to feel proletarian that smokes our meats, but the “will” to be prolertarian – Toni Preckwinkle falls down manholes and your Little Flower cravat is in my Smithwicks.”

Shake Down the Hypocrisy at Notre Dame - Sign for Life and Free the Protestors

Chicago Firefighter Jim McMahon saves lives on the job and all the time. Notre Dame cares only about getting into a Bowl Game and fitting more mopes into goofy checked golf slacks, while kissing the fanny of America's Most Pro Abortion President.

Notre Dame University had scores of people arrested and charged - people who protested the asinine bestowal of a Doctor of Laws on Planned Parenthood's President -Barack H. Obama. Let's get those charges dropped.

Jim McMahon reminds all of us to help push Notre Dame to drop the charges aaginst the protestors.

Click my post title to the link and sign the petition.

You will do the right thing. It has been years since the PR Driven School in South Bend did the same.

Huge hat tip to Jim McMahon:

http://jimmcmahonchicago.blogspot.com/2009/12/shame-of-notre-dame.html

Thomson's LiteMo, or Gitmo Lite, Lures Melonaires!

O Beloved one, How did you manage to, so heartily eat those slices of melon ? Just one slice of the melon had such an effect on me, then how did you manage to eat so many slices ?" Luqman(A.S.) replied: "O Friend, from your hands I have received hundreds of gifts. The burden of thanks upon me is so great, that my back has gone crooked. Hence, I felt ashamed that the hand that had granted me so much favours, if one day some distastefulness or bitterness should come, how can I turn away from it ? O Friend, the pleasure of knowing that it comes from your hands has changed the bitterness of the melon to sweetness." Luqman Servant of Allah

Thanks Illinois Former Elected ( well not Pat Quinn of course) Officials for making Thomson Illinois the Epi-Center of Illinois Melonaires!


Former Governor Pat Quinn and Former Senator Dick Durbin are True Men of Genius!

Thomson, Illinois is the Melon Capital of the World. Some argue that Illinois will become more of a Terrorist Epicenter - Well, Never Pass Up a Catastrophe! Gitmo North will attract Terrorists You Say? Bring 'em on! They Gotta Eat and No one can pass up a delicious Thomason Melon!

Thomson, IL will become the World Melon Market. Melons Rock the Casbah and the Thompson Center and soon the White House!

Dig into the Melon groove! Futures and Commodities Melons ain;t no Oddity!

From High Plains Midwest AG Journal no less!


Time to thump the melons

Watermelon is no longer just the stuff of barbecues and seed spitting contests. It is all grown up and playing a sweet note in dishes, not just dribbling juices down your face.

The first problem one encounters when face-to-face with a melon is how do you tell when it is ripe. You can always cut a plug and taste, providing the melon is in your own patch, (for some strange reason purveyors of the juicy fruits frown upon plugging).

Thumping is fun, but it doesn't work for me. Sniffing, does however. Just go nose to nose with the fruit and if you can smell the taste of the melon, it is ripe. Some people push a bit on the stem end and if it gives a bit that is another indication of ripeness. Pay no attention if a melon has a light colored area on its fat body, that merely marks the part of the melon that was lying on the earth and out of reach of the sun. It has nothing to do with ripeness not with sweetness.

Sweetness is what most people enjoy about melons. The higher the fructose content the better we like it. The darker the meat of the melon, the more sugar it holds. If you are buying by the slice or the wedge, you can eyeball the color and pick accordingly. Avoid mealy melons as they are the old guys who lounged around in the sun too long. All melons and most fruits take kindly to salt and to lemon or lime juice as they enhance flavor and makes the melon taste sweeter.

Watermelon & Goat Cheese Salad

Red and yellow watermelon (or a combination of different kinds of melon) when served together make a colorful salad, but you can use just one kind if you like.

1 1/2 pounds red watermelon
1 1/2 pounds yellow melon
6 oz fresh goat cheese, cut into cubes or crumbled
1/2 cup hazelnuts (or other nuts), toasted and chopped*
8 fresh mint leaves, julienned
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch salt

Cut rinds off melons, leaving fruit intact. Remove any seeds. Slice melons into 1-inch thick slices. Cut slices into long fingers or triangles. Place melon on a chilled platter. Intermingle goat cheese with melon pieces. Sprinkle hazelnuts, mint, olive oil and salt over the top. Makes 4 servings. *Note: Spread nuts on a baking sheet. Toast 10 minutes in a 300 F oven.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watermelon & Cherry Tomato Salsa

Serve with grilled fish or use the salsa as a salad.
1 1/2 pounds red watermelon
1 1/2 pounds yellow watermelon or other melon
1 1/2 cups red and gold cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup tightly packed cilantro or parsley leaves
2 teaspoons minced shallot or scallions
Salt, to taste
3 tablespoons pure olive oil
1 tablespoon wine or raspberry vinegar, more to taste

Cut both melons into 1/2-inch cubes, remove seeds and place in a large bowl. Cut tomatoes in half or quarters and add to the bowl. Lightly chop cilantro or parsley, add to the watermelon, along with shallot, salt, olive oil and vinegar. Mix well. Depending on sweetness of melons and acidity of tomatoes, adjust seasoning with salt or vinegar, if needed. Serves 6 to 8 as a salad.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watermelon & Summer Berry Gazpacho

Berries of any kind can be used in this refreshing malange. It can be served for dessert, or as a first course or as a lunch.

6 1/2 cups cubed watermelon, to yield 4 cups puree
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
10 mint leaves, finely sliced
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse cracked black pepper
Pinch cayenne, optional

Seed melon cubes, if necessary. Put cubes in a blender and process until smooth. Pour puree through a strainer, pushing gently. Discard pulp. The remaining puree will be very thin, almost like juice; set aside in refrigerator. For gazpacho: To 4 cups of puree, add the lemon juice, vinegar, mint, onion, berries, salt, pepper and cayenne; mix well. Chill at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve in chilled bowls. Makes 4 servings.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watermelon Agua Fresca

This bright red and refreshing strained drink can also be made with yellow watermelon, honeydew or other varieties of melon.

3 pounds ripe watermelon
1 1/2 cups cold water
2 to 4 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
Squeeze of lime

Remove any seeds, then cut all but about 1 cup of melon into chunks and place in blender or food processor. (It's okay if a few seeds make it into the blender.) Add enough water to blend, sugar and lime juice; blend until quite smooth. Strain through a fine strainer, pressing solids to get as much liquid out as possible, and add remaining water, plus more sugar and lime juice to taste. Cut remaining melon into small dice and add to the agua fresca. Chill until cold or serve immediately over ice. Makes 4 glasses.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chunky Cataloupe Agua Fresca

This unstrained agua fresca has chunks of melon and more water than the strained version. Pick the ripest melon you can find. You can also use honeydew or specialty melons. This will hold in the refrigerator for a day or two.

1 1/2 pounds cantaloupe, about 3 cups chopped
2 cups cold water
2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
Squeeze of lime or lemon

Scoop out the seeds, then cut the melon into large chunks and place in the blender. Add enough water to blend, sugar and lime juice and blend on "liquefy" until quite smooth, up to a few minutes. Add remaining water and more sugar and lime juice to taste, if you like. Chill until cold or serve immediately over ice. Makes 4 glasses.

It's easy to see where watermelon got its name!

Date: 8/22/06

Thomson - More Than Gitmo-Lite It's America's Melon Bite!
http://www.hpj.com/journal/news/search2_VSearchResult.cfm



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomson,_Illinois

A Real Nobel Winner -Sgt. Gebhardt - Merry Christmas!

John Gebhardt's wife, Mindy, said that this little girl's entire family was executed. The insurgents intended to execute the little girl also, and shot her in the head...but they failed to kill her. She was cared for in John's hospital and is healing up, but continues to cry and moan. The nurses said John is the only one who seems to calm her down, so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both slept in that chair. The girl is coming along with her healing.

He is a real Star of the war, and represents what America is trying to do.

This, my friends, is worth sharing. Go for it!! You'll never see things like this in the news. Please keep this going. Nothing will happen if you don't, but the American public needs to see pictures like this and needs to realize that what we're doing over there is making a difference.. Even if it is just one little girl at a time.

James Gates U. S. Navy

Thanks to patriot soldier in Iraq, Chad Longell, for this heartwarming material. God bless America's soldiers. And . Dr. Steve Maloney!

UK Man Delivers Baby Using Blackberry ! Google, We Have a Baby!

A gent in Britain helped bring a child into the world by Google-ing instructions from his Blackberry.

This Brave New World can be Child Friendly. Planned Parenthood will no doubt seek damages through an abortion friendly anti-trust litigating Federal Judge like Judge Posner.

Until then, Joy to and In The World!

When Emma Smith of Leytonstone, UK, went into labor, her husband Leroy realized that they wouldn’t be able to get to the hospital in time. He then used his BlackBerry to find instructions online on how to deliver a child:

So the 29-year-old grabbed hold of his BlackBerry, accessed the internet and sought help from search engine Google for step-by-step instructions.

And after following the detailed guide on the internet’s wikiHow Emma safely gave birth to daughter 6lb 11oz Mahalia Merita Angela Smith.

Five minutes after the delivery the midwife arrived to cut the umbilical cord of their fourth child.

Well done, Leroy!

Quinn and Durbin Open Thomson Al Qaeda B & B!

Former Governor Pat Quinn and Former Senator Dick Durbin Sing Be Our Guests to Gitmo Illini!

Sing it Voters! Then Laugh these two out of Office!

Quinn, Durbin at White House today for Thomson briefing
December 15, 2009 6:44 AM | No Comments
Gov. Pat Quinn and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois meet with Obama administration officials at the White House today to be briefed on the federal government's plans to buy Illinois' little-used Thomson state prison in the northwest corner of the state for use housing federal prisoners and some of the detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Read more in Clout Street

Pat Quinn:

Ma chere Mademoiselle, it is with deepest pride
and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight.
And now we invite you to relax, let us pull up a
chair as the dining room proudly presents -
your dinner!

Be our guest! Be our guest!
Put our service to the test
Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie
And we'll provide the rest
Soup du jour
Hot hors d'oeuvres
Why, we only live to serve
Try the grey stuff
Chip:
It's delicious
Lumiere:
Don't believe me? Ask the dishes
They can sing, they can dance
After all, Miss, this is France
And a dinner here is never second best
Go on, unfold your menu
Take a glance and then you'll
Be our guest
Oui, our guest
Be our guest!

Quinn and Progressives:

Beef ragout
Cheese souffle
Pie and pudding "en flambe"

Quinn:
We'll prepare and serve with flair
A culinary cabaret!
You're alone
And you're scared
But the banquet's all prepared
No one's gloomy or complaining
While the flatware's entertaining
We tell jokes! I do tricks
With my fellow candlesticks

Chorus:
And it's all in perfect taste
That you can bet
Come on and lift your glass
You've won your own free pass
To be out guest

Quinn:
If you're stressed
It's fine dining we suggest


Durbin:

Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!
Get your worries off your chest
Let us say for your entree
We've an array; may we suggest:
Try the bread! Try the soup!
When the croutons loop de loop
It's a treat for any dinner
Don't belive me? Ask the china
Singing pork! Dancing veal!
What an entertaining meal!
How could anyone be gloomy and depressed?
We'll make you shout "encore!"
And send us out for more
So, be our guest!

Quinn:
Be our guest!

Obama:
Be our guest!

Mrs Schakowsky:

It's a guest! It's a guest!
Sakes alive, well I'll be blessed!
Wine's been poured and thank the Lord
I've had the napkins freshly pressed
With dessert, she'll want tea
And my dear that's fine with me
While the cups do their soft-shoein'
I'll be bubbling, I'll be brewing
I'll get warm, piping hot
Heaven's sakes! Is that a spot?
Clean it up! We want the company impressed

Big Ed Schultz
We've got a lot to do!

Mrs Schakowsky:
Is it one lump or two?
For you, our guest!

MSNBC:
She's our guest!


Mrs Schakowsky & Billy Ayers:
She's our guest!


DNC:
She's our guest!
Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!


Pat Quinn:

Life is so unnerving
For a servant who's not serving
He's not whole without a soul to wait upon
Ah, those good old days when we were useful...
Suddenly those good old days are gone
Ten years we've been rusting
Needing so much more than dusting
Needing exercise, a chance to use our skills!
Most days we just lay around the castle
Flabby, fat and lazy
You walked in and oops-a-daisy!

Quinn, Durbin, & President Obama:

Be our guest! Be our guest!
Our command is your request
It's been years since we've had anybody here
And we're obsessed
With your meal, with your ease
Yes, indeed, we aim to please
While the candlelight's still glowing
Let us help you, We'll keep going
Course by course, one by one
'Til you shout, "Enough! I'm done!"
Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest
Tonight you'll prop your feet up
But for now, let's eat up
Be our guest!
Be our guest!
Be our guest!
Please, be our guest!

Brit Hume Mops the Floor with Durbin - The Murderer of School Reform

Senator Dithering Dick Durbin is beholden no principle. The Thompson Gitmo Guest Haus Developer, Abortion Industry Baby-Daddy and SEIU Towel Boy is also the School Reform Child Molester of America.

Sen. Dick "American Troops are SS" Durbin does what he is bidden to do by SEIU, Planned Parenthood and the Education Lobby. Durbin has been caught strangling the baby of Reform in the cradle. This fatuous and mealy-mouthed dope is a parser for Abortion and then passes around his 1st Communion Photos to the voters.

Last night Brit Hume pasted this time serving dope -

The real reason seems to be that the program works and thereby threatens the monopoly the public schools and their unions now enjoy. So language to end the program was quietly inserted in that massive trillion spending bill now working its way through Congress.

Fingerprints are hard to find, but the point-man against the program has been the Senate's No. 2 Democrat: Dick Durbin of Illinois. The AFL-CIO's most recent rating of his support was 100 percent — small wonder.

To think that I vote for this amoeba Durbin makes my skin itch. He makes Roland Burris look like Curley Dirksen.

Pour it on him, Mr. Hume!

Toni Preckwinkle's Buying the Rounds At Keegan's Pub! Terry O'Brien Who?

Here's a question - How do you get Alderman Toni Preckwinkle off your front porch?

Answer: Pay for the Pizza!


Yep, Progressive Panjandrum Preckwinkle is Movin' On Up! - To the 19th Ward! The brilliant Laura Washington, a graduate of Academy of Our Lady on 95th Street and one of Chicago's most accurate political journalists - Washington predicted the defeat of Barack Obama by Bobby Rush years ago - sees hope for the 4th Ward Alderman.

Toni Preckwinkle just might be in the mood to drop by Keegan's Pub and announce - "Bernard! Get a round for the folks from the Street to the Shithouse! How's about some Bumps and Beers? Who's up for some Shooters? Come on, you Coppers like nothing better than that - Shooters? Just kiddin'!"

Today, Laura Washington decided to test the waters around my raised ranch on Rockwell, after seeing a Poll conducted by the Tribune that puts the Honaorable Dorothy Brown -Pearls and All at Number one and Toni "Two Shoes" Preckwinkle at Numero Dos.

White voters, particularly along the lakefront, are ripe for Preckwinkle's 21st century-style "Washington coalition." She has picked up nods from progressives such as U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston and officeholders such as Aldermen Helen Shiller, Joe Moore and Mary Ann Smith.

Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), the city's first openly gay alderman, is still on the fence, but he says voters in his Lake View ward are split 50/50. "If the election were held today, the race would be between Toni and Terry," he told me Wednesday. Tunney adds that Stroger has gotten an unfair rap on the county tax issue, but concedes "people want to see a change from Todd."

Talk about change. Another reality check: A recent Chicago Sun-Times report that Preckwinkle may be breaking ground in -- gasp -- the white ethnic enclaves on the city's Southwest and Northwest sides.

Matt O'Shea is an O'Brien backer and committeeman in the "heavily Irish" Southwest Side 19th Ward. "Everybody thinks that if the ballot remains the same, it'll be a walk for Terry O'Brien, but I don't think so," he told the Sun-Times. "Toni Preckwinkle has the ability to reach out to a lot of white voters."

Toni might do a Western Avenue Death March and announce naming a street after Saul Bellow.

Losers have potential! Keep Hope Alive and watch out for open manholes!

Sun Times Demands Eddie V Do-Over"" Let's Find a Judge Who Will Do What We Want!"

Months ago Judge Shadur sentenced Edward R. Vrdolyak and the Sun Times Editorial Board screamed like Rag Sheenies. They fully expected Eddie V to go to the Guillotine!

They screamed the same way about George Ryan.

They Scream about everything, They are screamers.

Judge Richard Posner is a scream. He looks like Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm and from everything that I've read about and by him over the last thirty years, I'll bet he is as about as warm and as genuine as that character. Take a look at this - right out of the HBO script -

Posner noted that anyone once prominent in government can gin up a lot of letters.

"The business with the letters? It's ridiculous," he argued. "You have a person like this, he could generate a thousand letters."

'Letters????!!!! Anyone can get letters! You gotta write letters to get letters! I got Letters! Track, Glee Club! Alger Hiss Society! Letters? What's Letters?'


Posner's the appeals judge, anti-trust litigation game setter ( Founder of Compass Lexecon* - the Dictionary of getting, acquiring or keeping your billions of dollars), University of Chicago Professor, Abortion Friendly Judge, Dope Friendly Judge and Sun Times Editorial Board friendly judge.

I have always liked and admired Eddie Vrdolyak.

Judge Posner is a Protected White Elephant - 'Oh so, thoroughly above reproach, Me Lawd!'

I am thoroughly unimpressed by Appeals Judge Posner. He's an Ayn Rand character in the flesh. Posner plays with Microsoft and Fast Eddie does deals for people. I'll cotton to Alderman Vrodolyak any day.

Judge Posner screams that Eddie Vrodolyak should be sentenced in a judicial do-over.

The Sun Times Mensa Our Gang Comedians scream along with the Judge. Hell, I'll bet they asked the Judge to do the screaming.

I would love to see Sun Times pitbull journalist sink is buckers into the career and cases and confederates of Judge Richard Posner. They won't take the leash off of Novak because he'd tear buttocks -cheek to cheek - off of Posner and Pals. They'd make fast Eddie seem like a stylite.

It is interesting what Judge Posner screamed, when damning the already tried, convicted and sentenced Edward R. Vrdolyak: - "If you get old enough, you can commit a white-collar crime, and nothing's going to happen to you,"

Sic em, Novak!

Founded in 1977, Compass Lexecon's Chicago office pioneered the application of economics to legal and regulatory matters. We currently have a professional staff of more than 200 individuals, including 60 highly skilled Ph.D. economists and econometricians and more than 60 other individuals with advanced degrees located in seven offices.

Our practices are led by some of the most recognized and respected economic thinkers in the world including six former chief economists of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division. We maintain relationships with numerous high-profile academic affiliates, including Nobel Prize winners.

Antitrust, our founding practice area, remains a central part of our business. Our practice areas have expanded to include other areas of litigation including securities, intellectual property, accounting, risk management, valuation, corporate governance and employment matters. In all these areas, we often provide detailed damages analyses. Our non-litigation-related practice areas include matters such as business consulting, regulatory policy and public policy.

Compass Lexecon is a wholly owned subsidiary of FTI Consulting, Inc., a global business advisory firm.

http://www.compasslexecon.com/about_us/Pages/default.aspx

Bob Herguth and Sister Mary Paul McCaughey Nail It - Catholic Schools Must Target Mexicans and Latinos.

The PC all-inclusive Hispanics is a dodge. The vast majority of Catholics swelling the population of Chicago are Mexicans. Mexicans have a family and work ethic that runs counter to contemporary American Poser outlooks - " I won't do that type of work; I'll stay unemployed and live with Mom and Dad until I get a reality show,"

Yesterday was the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the signal cultural events in Mexico and with her children Del Norte.

Mexicans are as wildly jingoistic about their Motherland than any Pole, Lithuanian, Jew, or Mick.

Mexicans, as an American demographic, are as yet untoxified by the victimhood that required in the welfare culture - government operated which helped to destroy the African American Family and semiotic media developed Mom and Dad welfare provided to white "I wont do that type of work;I'll stay with Mom and Dad until I get a reality show."

The Si Se Puede Lefty Activists have yet to enthrall the Mexican families in America.
Mexicans cling to the Faith - Catholic or Evangelical Protestant; Mexicans , especially men, would rather string fliers together in an icy warehouse than take the dole or depend upon the charity of others; they abhor Abortion no matter how much perfume is squirted on that pig; they do not embrace Gay Marriage; they take care of their elderly with a grace and affection that should put all other Americans to shame and they love America. Mexicans are fearlessly courageous, loyal, generous and loving.

Mexican young people are attracted to gangs and are singularly violent practitioners of Gang Doctrine; however they do, it seems to me, exhibit the nihilistic and maniacally senseless violence that marks Black on Black Homicide and Assault and Battery.

Mexican Americans have cohesive community sensibility that was smothered out of the African American Family community through sixty years of government plantation servitude to the Welfare God.

The one area where Mexicans and other Hispanic Catholics cleave to the Welfare State is its attraction to Public Education. I dare say that one might map any and all aberrant behavior and associations ( Gang Membership, Teen Pregnancy & etc.) in the Mexican Community to that choice in Education. Perhaps that choice by Mexicans for Public Education over Catholic Schools stems from the fact that government pays for the Church and education in Catholic Mexico is homogeneous. For whatever reason, Mexicans need to choose Catholic Education over Public Schools, because Public Schools encourage Teen Pregnancy, Abortion, and viewing the actions of one's life -" Forget to learn English ! Forget your Abuelos - Government has their backs! It's All Good! America is Racist and Imperialistic."

Likewise, the Catholic Church and especially Catholic Schools must attract greater participation and commitment from Mexican Families. Bob Herguth of Chicago Catholic News .Com provides a great story about this initiative and Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, Catholic Schools Superintendent, is just the person to clearly define the benefits of Catholic Education to Mexican Families. Click my post title for this great story

The evidence that Public schools are a danger are as clear as the headlines in every Chicago newspaper and on every radio and television broadcast.

Sauger Fishing the Illinois River - Beer Drinking with Patriots

Waters of the Illinois River are colder than a mother in law's kiss and with this year's snap from God's Freon Lines (aka -Global Warming) YEOW! I read a scrotum shrivelling saga in this morning's Tribune. God be praised a gent knocked from his barge after a collision with a bridge was pulled from waters near Coal City* - a town I love so well. The Illinois River is formed by the mighty north flowing Kankakee and Des Plaines Rivers and pushes west through Morris and Ottawa where it picks up the Mazon and Fox Rivers and later the Vermillion and eventually spikes southwest to the Mississippi River. That's a hell of a lot of water to all you hydrology fans.

The waters are damn cold. Colder than the reception too many south side gents will receive, following the their decisions to cap off the office Christmas Party with a nightcap and a nightgown at Franklin Tap before boarding the Metra (Rock Islands). Frigid, Bridget!

The Illinois River is the Sauger Capital of the World. The Sauger is a Pericidae ( Perch family and great eating) and the smaller more athletic cousin of the Noble Walleye. There have been some instances where Sauger and Walleye mate and a spawn hybrid freak -Dysfunctional Walleye - the Saugeye appears. I believe that to be more agrarian legend, like the Yellowhammers of Custer Park - folks said to be so in-bred that they live along the banks of the Kankakee River along Route 113. Oh, they be there, Meryl.

Sauger fishing, in late November and early December, requires a genuine Illinois River Scout - a man steeped in River Traditions, Folkways and a River Piety toward the piscene quarry and also a man thoroughly marinated in Peach Schapps and Pabst Blue Ribbon - or, if unavailable, Blatz. I like Drewrys.

I had the honor of teaching with such an Illinois Voyageurcoureurs des bois - Jacques Martain**! Clam! Jack was known by that apellation following his capture of an Illinois Clam the size of a hubcap - Baby Moon Buick Sized.

Jack lived in Streator and drove to Kankakee Bishop McNamara High School ( distance of about sixty-five miles each way) and never was late nor missed a day of teaching History.

Voyageur Martain introduced me, Charlie Olson and Dead-eye Brett Fraser to the delights and dangers of Sauger fishing. The Key- don't get so brain-boiled on beer that you end up the main course for Mr. Gar under the river bed.

The absolute best time to take Sauger is in February prior to the spawning run near Starved Rock, IL. The next best is November and December when the shad take to depths of eight to twelve feet. To quote River Reporter Dan Vinovich:

" As late November and December arrive, water temperatures drop into the 50 degree range. This drop in water temperature seems to merge the smaller schools of fish into large wolf packs interested in one thing, eating! Fall, in my judgment, is one of the best times to catch full stringers of big fish. Locating these packs of hungry walleye and sauger is fairly simple. When you find the food, you find the fish. Shad is the main forage base in many of our midwest lakes and rivers. In the fall, millions of shad move onto shallow mud flats to feed on the remaining invertebrates in the water column. As the invertebrates in the water column start to deplete, the shad start sifting through the silt on these flats for the remaining food, much like the American Indians followed the buffalo across the plains. The walleye and sauger follow the shad, stopping to gorge themselves on the plentiful food supply before moving into deeper holes to hold up during winter. So for fantastic fall river fishing, look for shallow flats in the 10 to 12 foot depth range. "

This is all too true and Dan's simile is dead-on! Saugers form wolfpacks like the Nazi Subs off the Atlantic Coast in hunt of shad rather than Allied shipping.

In 1984, at about this time of year, Jacques "Clam" Martain lured Charlie, Brett and me out to Streator and off to the Illinois River in pursuit of of these Sauger wolfpacks. We took off from Triple K in Brett's tan Chevy van armed with Zebco's, Illinois Fish & Game Licenses, Peach Schapps and a case of Blatz cans ( 'Outta Pabst Boys! No More 'til Monday. Hickey - You gotta be Some Kind of Mutant - Drewrys!') from Box & Norm's Liquors on Station Street.

The Kankakee Trio ( Olson,Fraser & Hickey) picked up Clam in Streator at 5:30 A.M. and drove to Starved Rock - the site of the Illinwek Masada - the Illinwek tribe murdered a great number of Potowatommi and their Chief Pontiac in 1760': a bit of Advocacy History painted over by Ward Churchills. Genocide has nothing to do with honkies - this was Injun on Injun****. Starved Rock is an Illinois Treasure - get thee there!

We did and there was a beautiful blanket of snow - the temperatures were 25 Degrees. The swift waters of the Illinois River confluence and wet-confederation fired coal black swirls and ripples that caressed rock and bridge pilings, as we wadded, very carefully, in spots that Clam Martain had scouted and was sure that no shifts in the river bedding of limestone would snag his three colleagues.

Jacques (Jack) "Clam" Martain was a riverman - any and every River. Clam waded and so did we. With good rubber waders and thick thermals grabbing our butts, nuts and uppers. Clam was our coureur des bois! There are many of my generation and younger who learn to steep themselves in the better nature of man by respecting and tussleing with Nature. No WIs or Nintendos for such Patriots! Clam was no armchair historian either - he waded into history!

In the classroom he never once raised his voice which had a four generation Illini French tang of Gascony yet. Mr. Martain taught Illinois History and made it come to life -especially the French Heritage. Parts of Northern Illinois are remarkable for the Gallic magic that inflects the speech of people in Papinueau, rural Kankakee, Martinon, St. Anne, L'Rable, Hennepin, Minooka, Peru, and Ottawa. Clam liked nothing better than teaching history and then popping open beers while he fished and his three pals were devout communicants of this church as well.

Clam is convinced that somewhere in his French lineage is some Pontiac blood. He ordered each of us to sacrifice a lure of some value by tossing it into the Illinois river. "Before we take from the waters we must give to the waters!" Brett Fraser was passing some steaming used Blatz and Peach Schapps into the Illinois from the bank, but Clam said that was not a fitting gift.

Into the River we tossed, twister tails, hulu poppers and silly shads.

Charlie, Brett and I were told what crank baits to use and where to toss and how to play them -" Take 2 & 1/2" dull color shads -pop them out about fifteen past your target beyond the flow and play it fast -Sauger get pissed when shad dart by. Shad are bony cousins of the Atlantic or the river herring. Saugers love them.

My take for the day was four two and two and half pound Saugers. All were under the "14" limit and I had to let them go. As I mentioned, I like Drewrys and therefore was skunked. Blatz lovers Charlie, Brett, and Clam had stringers full of wiggling and pissed off Saugers. We cleaned, cooked and ate the fish and wrapped some for our wives when we made room in the coolers as good husbands by draining them of cans of Blatz.

I took a pass on the Peach Schnapps as did Charlie and we took turns driving back to Clam's house in Streator.

When we hit Route 113, we noticed a rainbow behind us in the side door rear view mirrors. Charlie Olson, 6'4" Black Haired Viking who taught Business and coached Tennis, took this as an omen. I concurred and we pulled into Custers Last Stand for Drafts, Darts and demitasse du jour
. We took much from the Illinois River. It was cold and warm at the same time.

The barge men pulled a fellow crewman from the icy Illinois River waters. I hope the rescued bargeman returns to that bridge and tosses in something of value. Jacques "Clam" Martain would demand no less .



*

December 12, 2009 6:07 AM | No Comments | BREAKING STORY
An unidentified man was rescued from the icy waters of the Illinois River near Coal City Friday night.

At about 9:30 p.m., a barge traveling on the Illinois River struck a Canadian National Railway bridge pier about a half mile from the Dresdon Lock and Dam. The collision caused a man working on the barge to fall overboard into the river, according to Coal City Fire Chief Harold Holsinger.

The barge crew lost contact with him in the darkness for approximately 45 minutes until he was found about a half mile downstream, Holsinger said. After about a 15 minute rescue operation he was pulled from the water by personnel from the Dresdon Lock and Dam.

The man was transported to Morris Hospital, his condition is unknown. Chief Holsinger indicated that the man was alert, conscious but very, very cold. The Coast Guard is investigating the incident.



John Loboda, WGN-TV

**

Voyageur strength hauled more than goods; it also allowed explorer Louis Joliet and missionary Father Jacques Marquette to search for a route to the Gulf of Mexico. These men became the first Europeans to see and map the Mississippi River along with many other natural landmarks. As they returned northward through the Illinois Territory, news reached them of a faster route back to the Great Lakes: the Illinois River. Joliet and Marquette would continue to the current site of Chicago, and Father Marquette would return to start the first Christian Mission in Illinois near Starved Rock. Today you can follow the strokes of Father Marquette when you paddle into the Illinois River at Starved Rock State Park.


The Illinois River retains the trade value and adventurous spirit from the Voyageur days. If you get the opportunity to travel this river or the byway that follows its shores, consider how the work and sweat of the Voyageurs helped shape Illinois history.

***
T

he Illinois Natural History Survey Mollusk Collection contains over 105,400 catalogued specimens, most of which were collected in Illinois and the southeastern United States. The collection is 90% freshwater species (mussels, fingernail clams, and snails) and 10% terrestrial species (snails). Most of the specimens were collected as a result of various faunal surveys conducted by INHS biologists from the late 1800's until the present. The early collections were made by such naturalists as John W. Powell, Robert Kennicott, Richard E. Call, William A. Nason, Frank C. Baker, Robert E. Richardson, and Charles A. Hart.

The snails are divided between terrestrial (13%) and freshwater (5%) species, most of which were collected more than 50 years ago. The largest and best documented collection of snails at the Survey was compiled by Thural D. Foster and organized by Frank C. Baker as part of his study on the "Landsnails of Illinois" published in 1939. The Baker snail collection numbers 1632 lots containing 11,970 specimens.

**** From a paper written by a high school teacher -

"In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue" . . . and made the first contact with the "Indians." For Native Americans, the world after 1492 would never be the same. This date marked the beginning of the long road of persecution and genocide of Native Americans, our indigenous people. Genocide was an important cause of the decline for many tribes.

Lord Stern's Diet No Meat and No Cheese? Lord ! Haw, Haw, Haw

The English Peerage is always good for gut busting, pew splitting fart launched laughs! Flatulent Lord Stern the Climate Change Half-Wit whelping the Copenhagen still-born ruse of International Environmental Fascism, has blasted a hole through his britches with this one!

"Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world's resources. A vegetarian diet is better," Stern said.

To fight climate change and tackle the growing crisis of diet-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, British consumers must cut down on meat and dairy produce, reduce their intake of processed foods and curb waste.

I say, Old Cock, drop that saddle of mutton,Wot?

Roast Beef of England? Nay More,Rupert! Stilton? Scat! Nicholas Herbert Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford, Kt, FBA Farting Nick Knows Nothing Nourishes Naughty Nitrates! Bacon Begone! Chops? Decamp, Scat! Shoo! Take it on the Heel and Toe!

Sing it Sinners!

When mighty Roast Beef was the Englishman's food,
It ennobled our brains and enriched our blood.
Our soldiers were brave and our courtiers were good
Oh! the Roast Beef of old England,
And old English Roast Beef!



But since we have learnt from all-vapouring France
To eat their ragouts as well as to dance,
We're fed up with nothing but vain complaisance
Oh! the Roast Beef of Old England,
And old English Roast Beef!



Our fathers of old were robust, stout, and strong,
And kept open house, with good cheer all day long,
Which made their plump tenants rejoice in this song--
Oh! The Roast Beef of old England,
And old English Roast Beef!



But now we are dwindled to, what shall I name?
A sneaking poor race, half-begotten and tame,
Who sully the honours that once shone in fame.
Oh! the Roast Beef of Old England,
And old English Roast Beef!



When good Queen Elizabeth sat on the throne,
Ere coffee, or tea, or such slip-slops were known,
The world was in terror if e'er she did frown.
Oh! The Roast Beef of old England,
And old English Roast Beef!



In those days, if Fleets did presume on the Main,
They seldom, or never, return'd back again,
As witness, the Vaunting Armada of Spain.
Oh! The Roast Beef of Old England,
And old English Roast Beef!



Oh then we had stomachs to eat and to fight
And when wrongs were cooking to do ourselves right.
But now we're a . . . I could, but goodnight!
Oh! the Roast Beef of Old England,
And old English Roast Beef!

President Obama Takes the Nobel Prize

President Obama, not yet a year into his term of Office, takes home the Nobel Prize.

I heard his speech this morning - it was nice.

The President should order Air Force One over to where the American Kids are keeping the Peace -in Afghanistan and Iraq. That would would be the heroic act of a good a man.

It is one thing to accept the Prize and it is another make good on its worth.

More from the Great Eye of Chicago Artist Araceli Arroyo

I noticed the great photography of Chicago Artist Araceli Arroyo a couple of weeks ago. I really like her take on the working class streetscapes around Midway Airport and her shots of kids at play.

Most telling are her winter images especially the one above that captures Chicago's Hawk in full flight.

Click my post title for more of Ms. Arroyo's work.

Kevin Myers: Gallantry and Grace/Orange and Green

"You don't consciously set out to do something gallant. You just do it because that is what you are there for."
Richard Todd

"I don't subscribe to murder" - Liam Clancy

Two Irishmen - Actor Richard Todd and Singer/Guitarist Liam Clancy- died last week. Kevin Myers wrote an essay today on the nature of gallantry and grace.

Tuesday December 08 2009

TWO Irishmen died last week. They both seem to have been good men, their lives crossing only as vapour trails from different flight-paths might mingle. Each provided a different kind national stereotype -- one for Ireland, the other for Britain -- and the myths they helped create still live on in the imaginations of those outside their respective countries.

Richard Todd was born in 1919 in Dublin to Irish loyalists who were not about to remain in a state run by Sinn Feiners. He was raised in England and India before becoming an actor. With the outbreak of the Second World War, he joined the British army, later becoming a paratrooper. He was among the first allied airborne soldiers to land in Normandy, before the sea-borne invasion hit the beaches. His own diffidence about this time matched his natural heroism. Later, as a film actor, he was to play in war scenes in which he had participated -- even watching other characters play the part of himself.

Two films defined him, and the mythic "Britishness" which he came to embody. The first, 'The Dam Busters', remains one of the finest British war movies ever made. It is successful partly because it conforms so totally with the requirements of myth, particularly in his portrayal of the legendary RAF Wing Commander Guy Gibson. Time has not been kind to either the dam-busting bombing raid, nor to its hero. The attack on the Ruhr dams in May 1943 could not possibly have succeeded in its stated objective in paralysing the German hydroelectric power systems. No measurable reduction in German industrial output was achieved.

The loss of aircrew -- eight out of 19 aircraft were shot down, with 56 men killed -- was quite shocking. On the receiving end, the result was even more terrible: more than 1,000 people -- more than half of them slave-workers and allied prisoners of war -- were killed.

History is only tangentially related to myth. And the legend of 'The Dam Busters' took flight with the film about the operation, with Richard Todd playing Gibson to perfection as the "typical" English officer. It is irrelevant that Gibson was, in addition to being a man of spectacular personal courage, actually a bumptious, insensitive and insufferable bully. The British people needed a hero, and Richard Todd's Guy Gibson provided it.

The second archetypal British character Todd played was Major John Howard in 'The Longest Day', the leader of the famous glider-borne assault on Pegasus Bridge in Normandy. Extraordinarily, Todd the soldier was actually a paratrooper in support of that operation. But John Howard once told me how he hated Todd's upper-class portrayal of him, which was utterly unlike the real John Howard; a working class boy, with a strong London accent, who had been commissioned from the ranks. This (to my mind) would have been a more compelling story; but to the American mind behind 'The Longest Day', and to the British also, British officers should always be toffs.

The real Guy Gibson was killed in action in 1944.

Two of the aircrew serving with the RAF at that time were the Waterford brothers, air-gunners Paddy and Tom Clancy. Only one-in-four of Bomber Command survived a tour of missions, and they both did; going on, in a second exile in the US, to form the Clancy Brothers. The youngest and last of the Clancys, Liam, died last week, just hours after Richard Todd.

The Clancys became an Irish caricature, but a wholly benign one, and only the too-sensitive worry about these things.

For those of us in the great Irish diaspora, the Clancy Brothers lit a torch of creative and cultural certainty. That it might have been largely mythic is irrelevant.

They also inspired many American folk artists, including Bob Dylan, and, of course, uncountable numbers in Ireland. But they were largely responsible, too, for the English folksong revival, the main protagonists of which -- Martin Carthy and the Watersons -- not merely followed their example, but were themselves of Irish extraction. A cliche is only tiresome to those who are too familiar with it.

The Clancys brought joy to millions, and made simplicity pleasurable. There was the darker side, of course; the fights and the booze, and so on. But they had their limits.

And whereas the Clancys revelled in 19th century ballads about the '98 Rising, they were uncomfortable with the gruesome musical lore of more recent vintage. John Boland's story on Saturday of Liam's rebuttal of an 'An Phoblacht' seller -- "I don't subscribe to murder" -- pretty much sums up the brothers' politics. Liam was the last of them to go, and I greatly regret never having met him.

NOT merely do the bawneen stereotypes of the Clancy cliche live on: so do its disciples. Children who never heard of the brothers live richer, better, happier lives today because of the music they helped save.

And another thing, equally relevant and always worth remembering: Europe is free today because of the likes of Richard Todd, and Paddy and Tom Clancy, and John Howard, and Guy Gibson. For behind all great myths are usually great truths.

The problem is that we usually don't know what they are.

- Kevin Myers

Irish Independent