Steve Rhodes of Beachwood Reporter - Integrity's Son!

It's a party line vote in Congress, but in America support for health care reform but disgust with the legislation before us is indeed bipartisan.

Steve Rhodes Beachwood Reporter - March 18, 2010

Ladies and Gents, Steve Rhodes is a rock-ribbed Liberal and gentleman to the back-bone.

Earlier this year Steve Rhodes, refused to be pressured by NBC and water down a story on the NBC Chicago Website. Steve Rhodes walked away from a paying job . . .how well it was paying the good man never mentioned. Only Suckers Beef.

Yesterday, 55 notoriously dumb nuns betrayed their vows and the faith in favor of a Progressive imprimatur from such fatuous cheerleaders as Washington Post Class Snitch E.J. Dionne and the clown opera at MSNBC in support of the worst piece of legislation forced on the American People since . . .last year's Cap and Trade idiocy.

Today, a genuine Liberal in the tradition of Harry Truman, Steve Rhodes offers a powerful explication of Health Care Boondoggle and Hegelian hypocrisy in the American Media.

Here is a sample from Beachwood Reporter!

Eric Zorn is "still waiting for someone to calmly explain why using 'deem and pass' offends the ideals of democracy or good government."

In other words, Zorn is still trying to figure out why it's offensive to use a parliamentary maneuver for a purpose it wasn't designed for in order to pass controversial and far-reaching legislation that doesn't have enough votes to pass if actually voted on.

Hell, why even have Congress vote at all? Let's just "deem and pass" everything!

Steve Rhodes and I agree on most things that are important - integrity, dedication to task, honor for our elders and betters, and support for those without succor.
He will tell me when I write crap out of laziness or expediency. Steve Rhodes will tell me when I have crossed the line or taken the path of least resistance - the coward's way out. I take what Steve Rhodes has to say when he piles on a Man's share of salt. He mines that salt with heart, sinew and soul.

Proud to call you Pal, Steve! You are a gentleman.

Some DUMB Nuns - Back Abortion to Move on Bishops

Most Religious Sisters are the Brides of Christ.

The stupid ones recoil at that sobriquet.

I taught with some great nuns - women who understood their vows as well as the subjects that they taught. They were Sisters of Notre Dame. I worked with Springfield Dominican Sisters and they were equally matched to their vocations and their trade.

However, I have encountered many blithering idiots - females all - who took vows. One was an openly practicing lesbian and loudly bragged to high school girls about vive le differnce and Sapphic truth. She was also as dumb as hammered horseshit, sad to say. Another, allegedly a teaching order nun, wanted no part of the classroom and took to an Ashram - where, no doubt she was beaten to death by otherwise good people trying to find peace in a hostile world.

Abortion is murder. Simple. Just like, well gee, I think that Slavery was wrong. Too many Progressive Hegelian dimwits parse out horse manure that appears in Salon and The Nation and out of the mouths of some nuns.

Some nuns are really dumb. These are girls - probably now the youngest of them in their 50's - who were and are, as my County Kerry grandfather termed them, "Life's Unplucked Flowers." Perhaps they took vows decades ago 'to serve the Church' by being maladjusted pains in the ass and apply the principles of Hegelian Progressive Group Think to get at "The Old Boys Club" - The Bishops.

This is from the Progressive Feminist Nun's best pal CNN (Catholic Nitwit Nuns?):

"We write to urge you to cast a life-affirming 'yes' vote when the Senate health care bill (H.R. 3590) comes to the floor of the House for a vote as early as this week," a group of nuns wrote in a letter to members of Congress released Wednesday by NETWORK, progressive Catholic advocacy organization.

NETWORK said the 55 signatories represent tens of thousands of Catholic nuns in the United States.

The letter argues that the legislation "will make crucial investments in community health centers that largely serve poor women and children."

"And despite false claims to the contrary, the Senate bill will not provide taxpayer funding for elective abortions," the letter reads. "It will uphold longstanding conscience protections and it will make historic new investments – $250 million – in support of pregnant women. This is the REAL pro-life stance, and we as Catholics are all for it."

The nuns are siding with the Catholic Health Association, a group representing Catholic hospitals, which offered its support for reform earlier this week.

Both groups are diverging from the powerful U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which stepped up its criticism of the bill in recent days. The president of the bishops conference, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, said Monday that the bill's language on abortion is not restrictive enough to satisfy Catholics.

My guess is that there is a direct correlation between the Nuns for Obama Care and the Ordain Us Girls Faction. They could never get around to the fact that priests in the Catholic Church - the one that took vows to - are all males.

As it is girls, you took vows. So did I. I honored my wife until the day she went home to Christ and still do. You, Girls, are cheating on your vows - just like a drunken tom-catting husband might . . .but that you do not need to worry about.

What you Penguins need is a healthy dose of what you handed out to us recalcitrant scamps at Little Flower, Visitation, St. Sabina's and Christ the King . . .aside from the sociopathic whackings with rulers, bats and belts . . . a trip to see Father.

I hope the Good Bishops lay into you stupid broads with a will!

Like I said, most Religious Sisters - Nuns - are the Brides of Christ.

NETWORK is the name for the Nitwits

http://www.networklobby.org/press/3-17-10HealthcareSistersLetter.htm

Nancy Pelosi's Desperate House Fraus!

Three Happenin' Babes!

The flu bug passed, but the idiotic Run DNC Health ( Reform?) Nonsense hammers all Americans.

This BILL is wrong ( over, under,sideways, down).

Reforming the ways and means by which Americans get medical care is crucial.

However, the same fatuous clowns and phonies who used Global Warming to package and wrap the Cap and Trade Bill have used Health, or lack there of, to boondoggle and build more control over Americans.

Nancy Pelosi, the Joan Rivers of American Public,albeit lacking Ms. Rivers' common touch, took all the girls into the Congressional Cloak Room for a chat - well, only the Democratic Girls.

Pelosi is desperate. The boondoggle has been outed. She ain't got the votes. If Jan Schakowsky is needed to make her look good on this one, Nancy will be calling the D.C. area REMAX only a few senesters before the Mayflower Van pulls up to the White House.

Here's why - from The Atlantic

"Deem and pass" has exactly the same legislative function for the House as passing the Senate bill and separately passing the reconciliation changes.

Which raises the question, why do it? Pelosi says, because many of her members do not want to vote for the Senate bill. But if I understand this procedure correctly, that is what they will be doing, with the possible consequence that the Senate bill eventually becomes law. What Pelosi is saying, almost in these very words, is that she wants her members to be able to vote for the Senate bill while telling their voters back home they have not. Her method may be procedurally correct. It is also, quite explicitly, cover for her members to lie to their voters.

What, she asks, is wrong with that? She and her supporters seem genuinely puzzled, so I had better spell it out. (1) Lying to voters is wrong. (2) Doing it so nakedly insults their intelligence (which, in addition, is unwise).

Pelosi is equally perplexed, I imagine, by the fact that she and the institution she leads are held in such contempt by the people of this country.

Happy St. Patrick's Day - Cousin Bobby O;Connell, Mayor of County Kerry, Drums Up Business in America!

Kerry Mayor Bobby O'Connell (Center)
On Sunday, at Cousin Willie's Parade Day Mass and Corned Beef & Cabbage Fest, I had a chance to catch up with a cousin from Castleisland, County Kerry*. Mayor of Kerry Bobby O'Connell is son of Phil and Ida O'Connell with whom my kids and I had a wonderful visit back in 1999.

SOME of Kerry's most prominent political figures are enjoying the hospitality of our American cousins this St Patrick's Day. Kerry politicians will be part of a number of delegations visiting America to enjoy the festivities and to attempt to forge some potential business and investment links.

Mayor of Kerry, Bobby O'Connell and County Manager Tom Curran have already visited Chicago and they're taking part in further events in New York on St Patricks Day before returning to Kerry on Thursday. Given the state of the economy the cost of the trip is an issue and council management have ensured the budget for the American jaunt is kept as tight as possible.

The entire 10 day trip is set to cost the council €4,800 in total, thanks to shrewd bookings earlier this year or just €480 per day.

Mayor O'Connell and Mr Curran have been joined on their trip by North Kerry TD Jimmy Deenihan (FG) who organised two business breakfast meetings with leading Irish American business people in Chicago and New York. Deputy Deenihan is financing his own trip.

So far the Kerry group have met with Richard Daley, Mayor of Chicago and the Cardinal of Chicago, Cardinal Francis George attended an Irish-American reception and met with with the Kerryman's Association in Chicago.

On Tuesday the Kerry delegation had a breakfast meeting and presentation to business interests in the Consul General's Office in New York followed by evening meetings with business and Irish-American interests that evening.

On St Patrick's Day the group are due to attend Mayor Michael Bloomberg's St Patrick's Day Breakfast at Gracie Mansions and the St Patrick's Day Parade with the Kerryman's Association. St Patrick's Day itself will also feature a meeting with the Kerryman's Association at Kerryman's Centre.

The Kerryman

* Kerry is an anglicisation of Ciarraí, itself derived from Ciarraighe, or "people of Ciar" the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective describing a dark complexion. The suffix raighe meaning people/tribe is found in various -ry place names in Ireland, such as Osry – Osraighe Deer-People/Tribe.

Heather Steans and Chicago Teachers Union Toss More C.R.A.P. Than a Busted Kohler!

Chicago Residency Angers Progressives! C.R.A.P.!

You work on the public dime then live with the folks who pop for your dimes.

Why, Il. Sen. Heather Steans, no-less a Progressive Fixed Smiler than Heather Steans is championing our Chicago Teachers Union! Heather Steans smiles more than Joan Rivers. Why not? Happy to help! Now, Heather's bio tells that she was born in Lake Forest ( a metaphor of ethnic and racial diversity in itself!) and worked as a Chicago Public School teacher. That means that Heather Steans needed to move into Chicago. Heavens! Heather still lives in Chicago -can't be all that bad.

Catalyst reports that Marilyn Stewart's Chicago Teachers Union 'demands' a change in residency for Union Members.

Are you a Union? Yes. Are you a committed educator who will do anything for the children? Now, that's a gummy one!

Heather Steans, who had been on the board of the Steans Family Foundation, and continues is a Progressive go-to-girl for Gay Marriage Pushes, Planned Parenthood Baby Barbeques and SEIU boondoggles. Hence that frozen smile. Steans is one of those dopes that Progressives always seem to gush about -"Ain't She Great?" Really, great how? Her legislation that she is try to push past Honest John Cullerton reflects a diminished if not absent intellectual capacity altogether. Great capacity for slinging C.R.A.P.!

Steans is pushing to free the Teachers! What a ton of C.R.A.P. - the sole diet of the Progressive since John Dewey smoked corn silk. Cops, Streets and Sanitation Workers, Foremen, and white collar municipal workers - any one drawing pay from the City of Chicago -my neighbors - must live within the City Limits.

The swell Chicago Public Schools need the teachers close by and comfortable in proximity to their pay envelopes.

Residency requirements for Chicago teachers are back on the Springfield agenda, this time with an unlikely sponsor.

State Sen. Heather Steans says she was able to convince Sen. President John Cullerton to extend the deadline for SB 3522, a bill that would scrap the rule requiring teachers in traditional Chicago public schools to live within the city limits. Mayor Richard M. Daley has long defended the requirement, established in 1996, as a way to try and beef up the city housing market and keep teachers close to the communities they serve.

Should Steans successfully move the bill out of the Senate Executive Committee next week, she believes it could reach a vote on the Senate floor—the first time a residency bill has done so.

Charter school principals do not have the same residency restriction.

“Principals in regular schools shouldn’t be hamstrung,” contends Steans, suggesting the rules unfairly restrict the pool of teacher talent from which principals can hire. “I don’t think it is sound education policy.”

The Chicago Teachers Union says the residency requirement can put members in a tight financial bind, especially during the recession.


“What happens to a teacher if they have to move in with a relative in the suburbs [for financial reasons]?” asks CTU lobbyist Traci Cobb-Evans. She notes that only Chicago teachers would face termination of their employment in that situation.

Why, Traci Cobb-Evans ! You are a LuLu!!! Teacher can't move to the suburbs. Not allowed. They move in with Cousin in Merl in Peotone and they lose the Dough-Ray-Me!


1. Housing market will be fixed by Heather Steans once Teachers are no Long Required to live in the City? You mean all the blighted and vacant housing that would follow the absence of a Residency Rule?

2. Hard Times for CPS Teachers????? If I made their money,I'd throw mine away!

3. Teachers can't move to the suburbs! TS! Tell Steans.

South Side Irish Parade - Lazarus Come Forth!

A solid well done to Chicago Police and Fore Departments and the Liquor Commission!

Yesterday's neighbrhood events were untroubled, because Commander Mike Kuemeth and the officers of the 22nd Police District and Chicago Fire Department specialists worked with Illinois Liqour Commissioners to prevent any all idiocies.

The neighborhood enjoyed a good day - not a great one.

The South Side Parade should march again. Chicago Sun Times writer Mark Konkol, a solid guy and an honest journalist sought out two solid Parade Advocates - James "Skinny" Sheahan, long-time Chicago Special Events Director and Renaissance Man Mike Houlihan concerning the resusitation of this great family event.

Quoth Houli and Skinny:

Born on St. Patrick's Day in 1979, she would be 31 years this Wednesday. 31 years. I'm almost twice as old as that.
When I was 31, well, I acted like a goof sometimes myself. But nobody said, "He got drunk and embarrassed us, let's kill him."
No they didn't. They believed in me. They saw the potential for something greater in me and never withdrew their love and support.
But South Side Paddy ... Well, is SHE really dead?
You've got to listen to the rest: SouthSideIrishParadeeulogy.WMA

By the way, James "Skinny" Sheahan -- Mayor Daley's former parade czar -- predicts the parade will be back next year. Why?
Because without it, Beverly is Irish, but "boring."

More from Skinny Sheahan via the great Mark Konkol

"I'm sure the parade will be back because we need a parade. Beverly's still Irish, but [without the parade] it's very boring," Sheahan said. "Listen, I was in charge of every parade in Chicago for 10 years. I've seen more parades than anybody in the world except for Mayor Daley, OK. This was a great, great parade. Two percent of people at the parade were goofballs, that's a fact. But the parade will be back. They'll have a heart attack when they read that, but I don't care."

Let's revive the South Side Irish Parade! If the spirit is still in the bones, save the wake.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2102550,CST-NWS-stpats15.article

Cousin Willie's Mass & Corned Beef and Cabbage Parade Day Tradition Continues

Cousin Willie is a 19th Ward Icon- Special Events genius,bartender, singer, community leader, and parish-go-to-guy and beautiful Irish/Italian/Polish wife Kerry have tossed a South Side Irish Parade Day Mass longer than most in attendance have been breathing.

President Obama and Michelle and the kids attended when running for the U.S. Senate, Paul and Sharon Vallas, Sheriffs Sheahan and Dart and no end of great folks took breafast and cheer following a Mass.

Primarily Willie's house was swelled by our massive extended family and friends -Winters, Brennan, Walsh, McNamara, Dibrizio, Helmer, Demateo, Diana, Morland, and Hickey members by the butt and boatload.

Though the Parade ended this tradition continued.

Father Jim Hennighan reminded one and all about our granparents. My grandmother Nora Sullivan left Cahirciveen, County Kerry at the age of thirteen and knowing only Irish after a Wake was held for her.

The Irish who emigrated to America rarely returned; thus, the child died for all intents and purposes as she crossed the waters.

My cousin from Castleisland County Kerry Robbie O'Connell joined us. He is the one wearing the Irish Bling of Office as the Mayor of the County Kerry Council.

Willie and his brothers John and Mark made more than 100 pounds of corned beef made by Limerick Mike at County Fair cabbage, spuds, carrots, onions and tables full of Soda Bread. I used to make the bacon and sausages, but told to bring cookies (which I did) but have my nose out of joint because my kitchen skills were not wanted, evidently. Irish Alzheimers - I forget everything,but my hurt feelings.

We had dancing and music - Maura Dalton Winters is my nephew Brendan's wife and was an All Ireland Dancing Champion who now teaches Steps for Cross-Keys.

There were scores of babies and as a typical Hickey/Winters Baby Sap, I had a ball.

Thank you Willie and Kerry Winters

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

South Side Parade with No Parade: Commander Michael Kuemmeth Prepares for Every Possibility

Commander Michael Kuemmeth and his staff are prepared to make this a nice day for 19th Ward residents and sobering one for nitwits.

I spoke with Commander Michael Kuemmeth this morning and he remarked that we were all in unchartered waters.

There will be zero tolerance for any all breaches of the public peace. No matter what the Chi-Rish ( Faux Paddy Gras Nitwits) believe this parade is was and shall be a neighborhood celebration of Faith, Family and Friendship.

Bus loads of slobs have tossed bottles, cups and at times Fully Kreuzened losers from their doors and windows.

Buses doing such will be impounded in accordance with littering laws.

Bottle and cup wielding dopes will be consigned to the holding pens prior to the trip to the drunk tank.

God Bless the Chicago Police and Fire Departments! They are set up and preparing for the unexpected - To Serve and Protect. Thank you Commander and all the women and men of the 22nd District
Have Fun at the Beverly Arts Center!

Dr. Thomas Origitano - Brain Surgeon Demands Smart and Ethical Choices Over Trumpeted Technology

The most horrific words that I have heard in my fifty seven years on earth were said to me by one of the most wonderful men I have met in that same time. "It's a glioblastoma."

In June of 1995, my young wife, mother of my three children, Mary had a brain tumor operated on by Loyola University Neurosurgeon Dr. Tom Origitano,M.D. - he sent a piece of the tumor to various labs and had gotten the fatal summary from many quarters.

"Mary has a glioblastoma tumor*." This savagely aggressive tumor is more prevalent in males. To my understanding, it is a death sentence. The tumor was massive! The pressure on my poor Girl must have been unbearable, but she was a beautiful, tall, skinny, redheaded, Kankakee Irish/French hardass - who else could put up with south side Irish knucklehead?

Dr. Origitano used a state of the art laser procedure, but warned me that the brain was God's domain and that he would only do as much - actually it was more - as he could do. This was Ali versus Mickey Rooney.

Dr. Origitano looked like Tom Selleck at the time that he treated Mary and they bonded immediately. The fact that I look like Barney Rubble on a good day had no impact on my relationship with this tall, dark, handsome and commanding surgeon had no impact whatsoever - " Oh yeah, Honey,He is almost a cute as you, . . .even without the soup stains all over his shirt. You didn't wear your drop-cloth at lunch again. Now, trot along and get me some ice cream, we have brain surgery stuff to do."

DR. Origitano gave Mary more time with me and the kids than should have been acceptable according to rules of science and technology. Mary kicked at the glioblastoma for the better part of two years before the Divine Ref called the Fight on January 17th, 1998. From that time on, I got periodic phone calls from Dr. Origitano about "how's things going for you?" Dr. Origitano gave me Mary's hair from the last surgery, which I store and treasure.

Today in the Chicago Sun Times, this soft eyed, humorous and very compassionate man of science and skill warns us of taking technology much too seriously - the human brain was built by God.

In the U.S., industry aggressively promotes the rapid adoption of new technology. Manufacturers spend heavily on studies, medical meetings and ads in medical journals and sign up influential physicians as well-paid consultants. This raises the possibility that money, rather than data, is driving the use of new technology. When a surgeon uses a particular brand of clip to seal off a brain aneurysm, is it because the product is truly the best clip on the market or because the surgeon is being paid by the manufacturer? (Loyola University Medical Center, like most other academic centers, has policies to pro- tect against such conflicts.)

Industry has been, and will continue to be, a partner in developing innovative technologies to prevent, diagnose and treat disease. But we need to protect against the possible corrupting influence of industry. And with health-care costs exploding, we also must make sure new technology is worth the cost. Intraoperative navigation may very well prove to be an effective way for surgeons to safely remove larger portions of tumors. But if this extends patients' lives only by two or three months, can we afford it?

Among the most-expensive new technologies are computer-assisted systems that deliver precisely targeted doses of cancer radiation therapy. Studies have found that each of these systems is effective in treating specific types of tumors and other disorders. But in many cases, they are being used to treat tumors or disorders that haven't been studied definitively.

Medical technology also has risks. CT scans and other medical imaging procedures are the greatest contributors to total radiation exposure in the U.S. population. But some CT scans may not be necessary.

This was demonstrated in a recent study at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Our study, published in the Journal of Neurosurgery, examined the routine use of CT scans in patients after brain surgery. We found low-tech bedside exams by a skilled physician did a far better job than CT scans in predicting which patients would need to return to the operating room to treat complications. We eliminated about one-third of the post-operative CT scans because they weren't telling us anything useful.

Thanks Doctor! Thanks for everything.




* It is very difficult to treat glioblastoma due to several complicating factors:[20]
The tumor cells are very resistant to other conventional therapies
The brain is susceptible to damage due to conventional therapy
The brain has a very limited capacity to repair itself
Many drugs cannot cross the blood-brain barrier to act on the tumor
Treatment of primary brain tumors and brain metastases consists of both symptomatic and palliative therapies.

Southwest Observer Scoops - South Side Parade On!

99% confirmed: South Side parade @ 10:30 a.m. Sunday

This is very good news.

» Read similar stories filed under: Beverly Breaking News Local Organizations Morgan Park Mount Greenwood
Location(s)
10300 S. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL, 60643

A

n inside source has told the Southwest Observer that the South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee plans to march - quietly and inconspicuously - from 103rd Street to 111th Street along Western Avenue at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

The reason is simple: The committee will lose its parade permit unless it continues to step off from the original parade start point at the intersection of 103rd and Western. Although no one would confirm this on record, it's all but guaranteed that - because of this technicality - the parade will continue.

For the obvious reasons, the committee has kept it quiet, so as not to attract the thousands of drunks who ruined it in recent years for the rest of the neighborhood.
Still, those partaking in past parade-day imbibing before noon should look out for the small band of marchers who plan to make their way south along Western Avenue. I'm told that they plan to march on the east side, which has always been the dry side and makes sense so as not to attract attention of the potentially hundreds of pub crawlers who plan to continue the other parade-day tradition: drinking heavily.

Kristen McQueary Queen Maker? Did Columnist Give Kelly Burke Bum Counsel"

Kristen McQueary confronts the Old Boys and lands Kelly Burke in the Jackpot.


The Evergreen Park Burke's are a great family. They banded together family and friends and got Kelly Burke, an attorney, a squeaker of a win in the February Primary for State Represenative ( 36th District). Rep. James Brosnahan (D Evergreen Park) called it quits. Kelly Burke won with less than 50% of the vote against a Speaker Mike Madigan and Big Union candidate.

John O'Sullivan, a construction laborer, beat long-time Worth Township Democratic Committeeman Dennis Magee with more than 75% of the vote.

John O'Sullivan , as Worth Township Committeeman, has a great responsibility to many constituencies. One of his responsibilities is to appoint vacancies. One of those vacancies is State Representative James Brosnahan's position. Kelly Burke demured on the appointment and now that seat was filled by Mike Carberry. It seems that Kelly Burke, in order to maintain an independence from the Ward and Party regulars might have been too coy, due to counsel from Kristen McQueary.

After the primary ( Feb. 18th) Kristen McQueary wrote this in the Southtown Star. This was a fed piece. You know - the ones that follow a phone call. The Guide to the Perplexed type. "What should I do Kristen? I won and yet I am beholden." McQueary like every tin-pot Queen Maker with ink to spill, seems to use the earnest Kelly Burke's 'Independendence.' What does a political pundit have to lose? Nothing. Never do. Some elected officials trust journalists and that seems always to their peril.


Kristen said,

But by accepting the appointment to the seat, she loses some of that appeal (Independence my own). She will benefit from the incumbency infrastructure on which Madigan builds his loyalty. Heading into November, she'll have staff, money and resources, a few months of legislative experience, a wider perspective and a fatter Rolodex. She'll probably have a few bills on Gov. Pat Quinn's desk, thanks to Madigan.

Burke said she welcomes the opportunity to serve constituents if appointed, but she will run her fall campaign the same way she ran her primary.

"I ran a pretty strong campaign using the resources of my family and friends and volunteers, and that's kind of my plan going forward," she said.

Appointing someone other than Burke doesn't make sense.

It does not make sense to a columnist with an inflated sense of importance and the need to kick at "The Organization: The Old Boys, The Clout." Columnists love the abstarct notion of Independence and view obligation ( beholden) as some sort of mark of Cain. The only real Independent folks are poor souls that get treated at State Funded Mental Health Facilities - the padded cell fraternity is as independent as it gets. Grit and tenacity are great, but please,get real about Independence. Poor Kelly Burke had the hook run through her gills with that last sentence and the paragraph to come. Kristen McQueary set her hook.

I stood out in the freezing cold with Kelly Burke's husband Terry on Primary Day. Like Kelly Burke, Terry is a wonderful guy. His brothers. two great kids, in-laws and family friends were working like Americans. The whole family, kids included, busted their rumps for Kelly. I also remember that Committeeman John O'Sullivan backed Kelly Burke, in spite of bucking the unions and O'Sullivan is a rock-solid union man.

Kelly Burke was at John O'Sullivan's kick-off party in Oak Lawn, as I recall.

Nevertheless, it appears that political columnist Kristen McQuery was doing a David Axelrod - activist journalist - bit here. Word is that Kelly Burke vacillated about the appointment and waited well past the deadline for the Committeeman.

It seems that she did so by being beholden to Kristen McQuearey's thoughts here in the February 18th column. Good Lord! Be beholden, but take advice from a columnist?

Either way, Burke is likely to land the appointment.

The downside is that she'll be casting difficult votes in April and May on state spending. She'll have a voting record. If the Republicans get serious, they might be able to make things difficult for her. Voters of the 36th District once again could experience a spirited campaign.

Except in that case, Burke might want Madigan's help.

He always finds a way to corral his flock, doesn't he?

That is troubling. The Committeeman, a great guy, wanted Kelly Burke and needed to go with another Burke backer Mike Carberry who also bucked Big Labor.

Good people are often hurt by the press. What goes on in the minds of a "Columnist" God only knows. Kristen McQueary did not help Kelly Burke and if and when Kelly Burke gets to Springfield this incident could dent her credibility with her colleagues.

When Kelly Burke has a beef with somebody, she takes it up with Kristen McQueary.

HBO's Pacific Review in WSJ - Poetic Prose

I read this review of HBO's mini-series The Pacific and was treated to poetry in prose. Nancy Dewolf Smith's close reading of this TV event is splendid writing. Here it is in its etirety. The subject of the War in the Pacific is epic.


HBO's 10-part miniseries "The Pacific" encapsulates the American war against Japan in a series of four battles, as experienced by U.S. Marines, that took place between August 1942 and the middle of June 1945: the famous ones for Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and the more obscure but also brutal fight to drive the Japanese off Peleliu island. Even those who know already that the Pacific theater was like no other in the war may be shocked by the harrowing combat re-created here.

Stunning in a different way are the three Marines at the center of the series. In their true stories and, more importantly, their individual responses to the demands of warfare, we find a perfect trinity of action, emotion and intellect. Understated as it is here—we must see for ourselves what these men are, and only with effort, in the most fleeting moments—the nuanced humanity they bring to the screen is crucial. Other characters also leave indelible impressions. Yet without these central three, the series might be little more than a balletic action film with psyche-piercing sights and sound effects.

Sgt. John Basilone (Jon Seda), the machine gunner who won the Medal of Honor at Guadalcanal, is the doer, the man without whom no war would be winnable. Although Basilone was a household name in America during the war, we do not often read his mind in "The Pacific," or need to. Yanked out of action after Guadalcanal to go on a lengthy war-bond promotion tour at home, he buries his frustration in a grim pursuit of female flesh. And yet when true romance arrives—only months before he voluntarily returns to action in the Pacific—the ultimate Marine is the most vulnerable of men.

Mr. Seda, whose face invites us in even as it gives nothing away, deserves most of the credit for clarifying a simple mystery at the heart of braveness; how, stripped to his elemental self, a hero is a kind of innocent. Even so, the power of a scene where we see him without clothes—bursting with health even as he faces death, his skin tattooed and yet looking as unblemished as a baby's—owes much to those who so gracefully filmed it.
Pfc. Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello) entered the war later than some, partly because his physician father—who, like many fathers then, had fresh memories of the carnage of World War I—did not want his son to enlist. Sledge's transformation from a clean-living moralist to a battle-scarred realist who needs reminding that he even has a soul can be painful to watch. Precisely because he came to war with a tender, open heart, the price he pays in suffering is a wounded spirit that may never have healed. His story is a reminder that life is not the only thing war can extinguish. Some survive but never regain the capacity to feel unbounded, guiltless joy.

If there is a pair of eyes through which we see most clearly, they belong to Pfc. Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale). He comes to the Pacific already a classic outsider, and although he becomes a crack fighter with close bonds to his comrades, his letters home reveal cynicism and detachment. Some horrors, once seen and participated in, cannot be forgotten, he says. "It is one thing to reconcile these things with God, but another to square it with yourself."

But Leckie, watching and recording, is resilient. From the depths of a total mental breakdown, he latches on to signs of life—some of them no larger than the wisps of blond hair blowing in the breeze on a nurse's cheek. Thanks to Mr. Dale, we see more deeply into Leckie than any other character here, and his transformations from harsh-faced judge of mankind to happy lover and back again are both troubling and marvelous to see.

"The Pacific" spends no time on lectures. Two of the series' most fundamental truths are delivered in single lines. One comes when a taxi-driving vet who served in Europe tells Leckie that the men who fought in the Pacific had the hardest war. Another becomes clear at a sunny behind-the-lines military base where flowers grow and buxom nurses abound—and we are reminded that this picture, familiar even now, is a fake. For most, the Pacific was only blood, mud and lonely, unmitigated fear.

As for the meaning of it all, we have Capt. Andrew Haldane (Scott Gibson) and the words: "I want to believe, I have to believe...every man that's wounded, every man that I lose, that it's all worthwhile because our cause is just." And then there's Bob Leckie's more succinct profession of faith: "I believe in ammunition."

What would the old breed make of all this, if more were alive today? To see the mesmerizing Rami Malek as Louisiana bayou boy Pfc. Merriell Shelton, who first appears like a sinister genie at the gates of hell, but may be something else entirely. To see the faces of the Marines at a jungle showing of "For Whom the Bell Tolls," yelling raunchy comments at the young Ingrid Bergman until her femininity casts a soothing spell and they stare, transfixed, at the screen. To watch once more the splashing men wading into the sea to wash away the gore and filth of months of combat, their naked bodies gleaming as if, somehow, they have been purified...until the next battle makes them sinners again.

Mary Mitchell is an Idiot and Craig Wall is a Punk - Let's Dialog about Race . Oh, Let's Do.

If it bleeds it Ledes( leads) -if it ain't bleeding help it do so. Mary Mitchell and Craig Wall

Some guy in West Beverly put racially charged block letters all over his garage. Mary Mitchell wrote that the guy is an "idiot pure and simple." Not a racist, but an idiot pure and simple.

Could be.

Craig Wall, Fox WFLD investigative reporter boldly put his microphone in the confronted guy's face and demanded to know "Are you a racist?. . .Are YOU a Racist?" Craig Wall repeatedly asked that.

Here let me try - "Are you an A$$hole, Craig?"

Begs the question.

The goof with the yard art might be an idiot and might be a racist.

However, whatever this guy's real or demanded civic crimes might be he takes a far back seat to Fox's Craig Wall and the always reactionary Mary Mitchell. One is a punk and the other an idiot.

Only a punk or an idiot, or both would want to make a very publicly announced,planned and inevitable booze stroll in this neighborhood become a race issue bloodbath.

Thousands of booze fueled idiots ( Bucktown, Ukranian Village, Logan Square, Lakeview and Lincoln Park and suburban Facebook ChiRish - Miller Brewing's Rainbow of Idiots) intend to get their Irish Freak on, despite the fact that no parade is scheduled. Thousands of the past years inebriated guests who took Metra south or boarded Booze Cruise Buses from fern bars will weave up and down Western Ave. in the Facebook inspired Parade of Dopes. Queen Sister of It Takes a Village ( who promptly responded to Craig Wall's clarion call) might join them for Cokes and Jokes. Booze and stupidity shaken up with a pretty lame race story like this will make an obnoxious event a good blood lede for Monday's papers.

This Sunday, thousands of nitwits will converge upon this neighborhood of mine. The Parade is canceled, nitwits. This same quiet and very livable neighborhood has seen too many racially charged and motivated crimes in the last few years. Interestingly, they have been black on white crimes and not t'other way around. Old people beaten to death in their homes and PC dictums require that no Hate Crime be attached - as it was merely a property crime. B.S.!

Only a few years ago, three black kids beat s sickly white boy (heart condition) nearly to death and with much huffing and puffing and crocodile tears columnists like Mary Mitchell insisted no racist motivations whatsoever on the part of the pipe-wielding trio, even after they admitted that they chose the boy because he was a goofy looking white kid.

There was no backlash. Blacks and whites continue to live in the neighborhood. No white on black crime. No lynchings, bull whipping, taunts or teases. Nothing. Black people want to buy homes here and live with people Chicago's Media demand at every possible opportunity to be racist thugs. Ironically, my black neighbors want no part of the thug-life they left behind in Grand Crossing, Gresham, Englewood and Roseland.

Yet, Mary Mitchell and anal apertures like Craig Wall need blood ledes - even when the truth is pretty anemic.

Mary Mitchell is an idiot and a very well-documented one at that. Craig Wall is a Punk.

I used to love the south side parade. I will go to Mass and pray for peace and then keep an eye on kids and home.

*

More than 13,000 people have pledged to show up and another 7,600 responded as a "maybe". Kelleher says he posted the event on a whim and was just curious to see what people would say.

Now the "event" could turn into the world's largest pub crawl. A St. Patrick's Day celebration in New York City set that record last year with 3,163 participants.

Kelleher says there is no official starting place or itinerary for the day. Residents of Beverly are concerned that if thousands of people show up, the crowd would get out of hand.

Alderman Virginia Rugai says she has made the Chicago Police aware of the Facebook posting, but as of now, the police do not plan to add patrols that day.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/2096447,CST-NWS-mitch11.article

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/20100310-racially-charged-display

Massa's in the Hot, Hot, Hot Shower! DNC Lather Lobbying.

Rep. Massa says it was not sexual harassment - it was 'Tickle Fights!'

Bony Finger poking Rahm Emanual lobbies Massa's support in the Congressional Shower!

Yet, I am still a Democrat - Chicago Democrat. Hey, really. We showered together after practice in high school and that was it. Really.

The South Side St. Paddy Parade With No Parade but A Parade of Idiots!

With the cancelation of the south side Parade, young festive Bucktown/Wicker Park/Lincoln Square/Lincoln Park swells and maids by the bus load from Fern adorned saloons, will be seen going east and west on Western Ave. this Sunday.

It is always heart-warming when a bullet proof, fully Kreuzaned, soul patched young buck manages to slur out a demand for the non-existent south side taxi cab -"Ehh, OhFuggah. Wherez a Cabs at? Maaaan Do'od yoo Suck!" Followed by a sharp moistening of his chinos and an acrobatic weave backward, onto my lawn. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

While we regret the need to alter such a fine tradition, the Committee feels that suspending the South Side Irish Parade in its present form is the just and responsible thing to do.”

The decision has since created uproar on Facebook. Over 30 groups and events were created, some comprised of around 10,000 members. After numerous posts of pointing fingers and expressing grievances, the groups now talk about turning the weekend in Beverly into the world’s largest pub crawl. “I say everyone just shows up and has a good time,” said Anthony Palaggi on one of the group sites. “Viva la Resistance!” said Mike Benninghoff on another site.

Click my Post Title about the Facebook Parade of Drunks

Col. James A. Mulligan - A Heroic Figure from Chicago's Buried History

I re-read a 1921 edition of Catholic Church in Chicago 1675 - 1871 by Gilbert J. Garraghan, S. J. no doubt one of Father Damen's later disciples.

This history chronicles the growth of Catholic Chicago from Father Marquette's original Mass for the voyagers on the sand dunes near the mouth of the Chicago River to the Great Chicago Fire.

The first Catholic Church built in Chicago was Father St. Cyr's St. Mary's located on the south side of Lake Street near State in 1833 with a mere 200 ( mostly French) worshipers.

By 1857 and flood of thousands of Irish immigrants, the still magnificent Holy Family Church towered above 12th Street ( Roosevelt Road; a Catholic College was in place at St. Mary of the Lake and Catholic Institute (later the Chicago Lyceum) -Literary and Debating society flourished.

One of the chief members of the Catholic Institute was recent graduate of St. Mary of the Lake College - James Adelbert Mulligan.

Col. Mulligan organized the three Catholic Military societies ( the Shields, the Emmett and the Montgomery Guards) into the Chicago Irish Brigade, which was the 1st militia from Illinois recognized for the Federal Army in the American Civil War. This body became the Illinois 23rd Regiment.

Col. Mulligan led the Illinois 23rd ( 3,500 tough Micks) to Missouri where it faced Confederate General Sterling Price's force of 12,500 Rebs in what must have been the wildest battle of the Civil War - The Battle of Lexington also known as the battle of the Hemp Bales.

Hemp is dope. Mulligan's force was outnumbered and surrounded on the campus of Masonic College. Sterling Price bombarded Mulligans troops from September 18th through the 20th. On the 20th of September, Price soaked hundreds hemp bales in the Mississippi River and used them as breastworks - constantly closing a grip around the throats of the 23rd Illinois.

General Price probably should have lit them bales on fire and smoked the Micks into submission. Too stoned to fight?

Nevertheless, the soaked bales did the job and Mulligan and the 23rd were captured and later paroled in a prisoner exchange - not uncommon in the old rules of war.

Mulligan became the commandant of Camp Douglas but was removed for treating the Confederate Prisoners with dignity and food. Progressive minded radical Republicans wanted the Camp to be a punitive exercise - starve and freeze the Rebs.

Col. Mulligan returned to combat leading the Chicago Irish Brigade in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley against Confederate General Jubal Early at Leestown and later Second Kernstown ( n.b. Illinois Irishman James J. Shields defeated Stonewall Jackson at the 1st Battle of Kernstown in 1862 and was the only Union General to best Jackson) where Rearguard Action expert Col. Mulligan fought a fighting retreat and was killed by a Confederate sniper.

We read way too much mythology about Jane Addams and Lyman Trumbull types and most of it is inflated nonsense.

James A.Mulligan was quite a historic figure. We only read about great Americans like Beaubien, Brownson, Shields and Mulligan in books that were close to history and not re-invented redactions of history.


James A. Mulligan (1830-1864)
James Adelbert Mulligan was a brevet brigadier general of volunteers in the Union Army. An Irish politician in Chicago, he raised the "Irish Brigade" (23rd Illinois). He was wounded at Winchester and as his men were carrying him from the field he ordered them to save the flag rather than to save him. He was captured and died three days later.

Pat Hickey's Film of "The Snot Locker"

The New York Times called The Snot Locker "the year’s most critically acclaimed American film." Rotten Tomatoes reported that 0.1% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on a sample of "both of them," with an average score of 8.4 out of 10, or something like that and it was the second highest-rated film in 2010 at this site, behind Polanski's's Up with People Like Us. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating normalized to 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 0.0 based on 33 reviews. Rotten Tomatoes wrote of the critics' consensus, "A well-acted, intensely shot, action filled war epic, Pat Hickey's The Snot Locker is thus far the best reviewed of the recent dramatizations of the nose."[25]

Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun Times refused to rate the film, but Roger Egbert, a guy in Custer Park, IL., thinks this is the best dang old film of the year and as one of the best of the By God decade, writing, "The Snot Locker is a great film, an intelligent film, a film shot clearly so that we know exactly who everybody is and where they are and what they're doing and why." He applauded how the suspense was built, calling the film "spellbinding, but that did not happen. I thought I was Farmering on the cold ground myself." Egbert considered Houli "a leading contender for Academy Awards", writing, "Houli's performance is not built on complex speeches but on a visceral projection of green stuff that tells who this man is and what he feels and that is sinus backup. He is not a hero in a conventional sense." Shot entirely in Illinois. and on a cell phone camera at that, Hickey captures what it really feels like to be stuffed up and congested.

See this film, before the Nyquil kicks in!


The Snot Locker

"Stuffy" a fifty-ish Actor with a Radio Show - Mike Houlihan

"The Kid" a baby - Morganthaller Cavendish

Music Score Aqualung by Jethro Tull

Cinematography - Cingular One

Powerful Story of Abortion Horrors and Planned Parenthooding Out of Philadelphia

Lawyer and writer Christine Flowers penned a powerful and disturbing story about the Abortion Industyry in America and the Planned Parenthooding of the Media. Well done Ms. Flowers! Read this.

The legalization of abortion was supposed to have protected not only "a woman's right to choose," but women's health in general. Unfortunately, the advocates hadn't yet heard of Dr. Kermit B. Gosnell and his abortion house of horrors.

In the wake of revelations about the unethical practices, unlicensed practitioners and grisly conditions at the West Philadelphia family planning clinic (are mummified fetuses in jars a form of birth control?), I expected the pro-choice activists to circle the wagons and attack a much greater enemy than the doctor himself: pro-lifers.

They didn't disappoint me.

Abortion is still legal and widely available in Pennsylvania. Which means legalization hasn't entirely eliminated the questionable medical practitioners who plied their trade in the dingy pre-Roe alleys. It just moved them into the light of day on Lancaster Avenue.

But the pro-choice crowd simply can't admit that. They'll acknowledge that licensing requirements must be made stricter. They'll applaud the fact that Pennsylvania suspended Gosnell's license, and that he agreed to a suspension in Delaware. They'll say that this doctor wasn't typical of the average abortion provider.

And they'll do what our sister paper did in its editorial on the topic, conjuring up the images of Barnett Slepian and George Tiller, abortionists killed by radical anti-abortion activists:

"Sadly, threats, protests, and even the murder of doctors who perform abortions have forced many good physicians out of the abortion business, leaving others to fill the void."

Like I said, I saw it coming.

You can't risk undermining the whole decades-long charade that legalized abortion is a medical necessity and that only by removing virtually all restrictions on availability can you promote "reproductive health." The women who died at Gosnell's clinic might differ, if they still could.

Still, I'm willing to concede that the vast majority of abortion clinics don't resemble the hellhole on Lancaster Avenue.

I'm also willing to admit that most of the people who perform abortions believe they are providing a necessary service.

But what I refuse to accept is the spin that many pro-choice advocates apply to this and similar issues, trying to make it seem as if they are the only ones who care about women's health.

Click my post title for more.

Lt. Guv Sheila Simon - The Hope of Every Goo-goo Entitlement Child of God - or Higher Power -or Void

Former Progressive Alderman Marty Oberman's kid Justin got waxed in his bid for the State Treasurer. The kid stood for Office and took his lumps, God Bless Him! He wrote a very gracious and thoughtful letter to his supporters.

From day one, we ran a substantive campaign talking about the issues that affect each of us on a daily basis. On job creation, we proposed new, creative initiatives that would allow the Treasurer to work more closely with Illinois businesses. In Rockford, for example, we hosted a forum on high-speed rail to discuss ways that we could use existing manufacturing infrastructure to make Illinois a leader in building new rail equipment.

On ethics, we led from day one by proposing tough new sanctions limiting who we would accept contributions from.

These issues – job creation and ethics – are at the heart of why I wanted to be your next State Treasurer, and they will continue to motivate me. Since the polls closed and the results became clear, I have heard from many of you encouraging me to stay involved on these issues and to continue to fight for a government that will improve and honor our beleaguered Illinois. I can assure you that I intend to do just that. Thank you so very much for everything you have done and for the faith you put in me.

http://www.obermanforillinois.com/

He stood for office!

Then there are the Illinois Panjandrums - the array of political fringe folk whom Goo-goos and Ummers wet their silkies over - Chris Kennedy, Sheila Simon and the parade of "Ain't They Greaters!" that Progressives scream out common sense about.

Chris Kennedy - RFK's Boy owns the Merchandise Mart Building and has been as quiet as a Progressive at a Charity Auction since he locked down an appointment to the U of I Board. Chris announces and then crawfishes his candidacy for various public offices in Illinois. He'd get his Patrician Ass handed to him in any election.

Sheila Simon is the daughter of Paul Simon. I am the son of Pat and Ginny Hickey -BFD! My Dad is a great stationary engineer and WWII vet ( Bougainville, Guam and Iwo Jima) and my Mom can still whistle through her fingers and break a pane of glass. I have trouble working a channel-locks am as Yellow as a Duck's Foot and dribble when I whistle.

Sheila Simon won the endorsement of President Obama in her run for Mayor of Carbondale, Illinois and lost the election. She is also a former City Councilman from Carbodale. Sheila Simon was appointed to the Illinois Reform Fun House run by former Federal Prosecutor Patrick Collins. The only talent on that panel is Northwestern Football Coach Patrick Fitzgerald.

Goo-goos and Ummers ( people who must offer "Ummm" as an antecedent to any forthcoming stupidity -usually in print) love Sheila Simon. "Ummers tend to be boiled beets Progressives. Goo-goos are bed and breakfast owners who, having shaken down zoning officials in Chicago, go after them skalawags and ne'er-do-wells with the BGA.

Sheila Simon evoked the memory of her departed Dad and looks very much like Pater Simon. Sheila wants to give hope to Progressive Children of Entitlement - not children of Regular Democratic Elected Officials, but IPI and IVO Sanctioned Dimwits Not Hacks. You see, if the son or daughter of non IPI-IVO Sanctioned Dimwit but Not a Hack were to run for office Carol Marin and Eric Zorn and Mark Brown and Studs Terkel would get their panties in a twist. I heard Studs Terkel only the other day on NPR - he's a treasure. "Ummers" tell you what to think and get very upset when you disagree with them.

You shall know them by these words " Ain't She Great? No, Really." Why is she great? "She just is!" No, she is as dumb as hammered horseshirt, in truth. "She's Great!" Less filling! & etc.

Sheila Simon wants the "appointment" to the LT. Governor's spot. Pat Quinn should leave the spot empty. It is an empty spot to begin with and Sheila Simon wants to fill that void with her onion-skinned talents. The Lt. Governor job is one that Sheila Simon believes that she can really sink her teeth into . . .unlike the Illinois Reform Commission.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO -- The daughter of late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon has submitted her application to be the next Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.

Okay! Chris Kennedy seems to laying in weeds after being appointed to the University of Illinois Board.


Sheila Simon is a former member of the Carbondale City Council and a member of Gov. Pat Quinn's government reform commission.
She calls her chances of being named the nominee "a long shot." But she says she's committed to helping the Democrats secure a victory this fall.

The Democratic Party began accepting applications this week from people who want to replace primary winner Scott Lee Cohen on the ballot. Cohen has left the race.

More than 175 applications had been submitted as of Saturday afternoon.

Party officials say no timeline has been set to pick a candidate.

Killing the Legendary Pump Room - Tribune Shilling for the New Owners?

Note to the Tribune reporter - witness the dearth of Tom Collins glasses? No glass black panthers adorn the tables either. Martinis seem to be the drink to order.


I just left a crowded Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church here on the south side of Chicago. Father Gallagher gave a beautiful and simple homily about the need to accept God's will - the parable of the Chaff and Wheat.

Weeds grow up with the grain and louses, creeps, thugs and low-lifes thrive among simple, hard working, generous and wonderful people. What we want is not important, but what we do with what we are given and how we treat others is all that matters.

The Mass was thick with Catholics - Croatians, Irish, Italian, Mexican, African American worshippers - and as if to add a poignancy to Father Gallagher's homily a wildly obnoxious loud and disruptive crack-pipe aficionado who snorted, farted, fidgeted and interjected occasional commands of "Hey, Boss! Boss! Over here! I'm worshipping. God Bless You." At the hand shake of peace following the Pater Noster, the pipe smoker was greeted with "Peace be with You." and pressings of the flesh.

Not expected and yet ironically welcomed, the gent stumbled out of the pew as Holy Communion was administered bounced down Sacred Heart's narrow and rickety stairs. After Mass, Our Sunday Visitor, the crack-piper, was still bouncing his way from car-to car in the crowded parking lot on 117th & Church Street.

The presence of the crack head only made Father Gallagher's homily more beautiful.

We are all in this Vale of Tears and Garden of God together.

Chicago's Pump Room in the Ambassador East Hotel is a secular temple and house of comfort to travelers and revelers.

The Pump Room has hosted celebrities and helots for decades. Last week, the Chicago Tribune trashed the Pump Room with this sophomoric and whiny narrative by a disappointed reporter. With one visit to the legendary Pump Room, reporter Lauren Viera swept the decades of service, welcome and grace long attributed to the Pump Room into the gutter:

In my recent hunt for the perfect Chicago hotel bar, I was after a particular mood. I wanted to find a classy lounge of yore: dark colors and textures typical of a private club; perhaps a hint of a bygone golden age, with history hanging heavy in the air, and long nights of lounging worn deep into leather booths. And most of all, I wanted well-executed classic cocktails, worthy of predictably inflated price tags.

Check out how we rate Chicago's hotel bars on a scale of one through five.

My first stop was at the Drake Hotel's Coq d'Or, which opened Dec. 6, 1933 — the day after Prohibition was repealed in the United States. Fortunately, the lounge's classy ambiance has changed little in the 76 years since. The burgundy-colored leather booths, the gilded finishes, the tuxedoed bartender — all accounted for. But ask for a Tom Collins, the classic gin-based sour long drink that has been ordered with multiple variations since the 1870s, and you're lucky if it's served in the appropriate tall-glass tumbler (which, incidentally, is named for the drink). At Coq d'Or, my watered-down Collins-mix cocktail was served in a hurricane glass drowning in ice.The Ambassador East Hotel's famous Pump Room was by far the most disappointing, considering its storied history. Opened in 1938, it was at one time the go-to hotel lounge in Chicago, frequented by Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman and the like.

On my visit, I was one of just three patrons sitting in the bar and still had to wait five minutes before the bartender on duty, concentrating intently on his handheld device, finally took notice. In reply to my Tom Collins request, he produced a watery vodka-soda, splashed with Rose's lime juice, served in a pint glass.

Only after I asked him how he made the drink did he pause, brows furrowed, and ask, "What's in a Tom Collins, anyway?" After hearing out the recipe and trying his hand at a fresh drink, he set it down in front of me apologetically and said, "You should always get what you want. Especially when you're out."

What I want, I'm afraid, doesn't exist anymore.

( click my post title for the full nonsense)

Heavens! A Tom Collins? Why not an Arrack Swedish Punsch, Black Velvet(Guinness & Champagne)The Doctor, or a Diki-Diki? All cocktails.

The Tom Collins is ordered with all the frequency of Keeley's Half & Half, Drewrys, Meister Brau, Andecker, and Grain Belt beers.

AS an old bartender ( Mike Doorhy's Mayfair West at 63rd & Mozart, Connelly's Tap at 63rd & Hamlin and Pete's Guiding Light at 63rd & Pulaski/Reilly's Daughter Pub on 111th, OB Joes at 111th & Sacramento and Leo's Riverside Tap on the Kankakee River), I knew my Mr. Boston Cocktail Bible.

Tom Collins - Voila!

2 ounces gin;1 ounce lemon juice, (freshly squeezed, if possible);1 teaspoon confectioner's sugar;Club soda -Add the first three ingredients for your Tom Collins drink to a cocktail shaker half filled with ice cubes. Shake vigorously long enough to chill, about 30 seconds.

Pour the strained cocktail ingredients into a Tom Collins glass or similar tall glass filled almost to the top with ice cubes. Top off with the club soda. Stir and serve with a straw.
Possible garnishes for your Tom Collins drink are an orange or lemon slice. Some people add a maraschino cherry.

I tried to imagine how this reporter would have reviewed Father Gallagher's Mass. The crack head sat directly behind me at Mass and next to Mrs. Scanlon. Mrs. Scanlon ( an eighty something widow) did not slide away from our Sunday Visitor, but accepted him as her pew mate.

Lauren Viera, it seems to me would have recoiled in utter and loud horror, demanded that the smelly drug addled gent be tossed from the house of worship and then pen a pithy missive of condemnation to the Cardinal.

Sometimes you a get a bum drink. Order something else - something less obscure.

The Pump Room continues to be a great and gracious place for an elegant time with wonderfully talented and fun people ( Max, Steve, Jesse, Bob, Angel, Gloria, James, Yancey et.al.) and handsomely mixed cocktails. The staff of bartenders ( Angel is # 1.) are exacting in the ministrations of the mixologist's arts and more so attentive to the point being family members.

When the Chicago Tribune wants something killed it dances the Joe Medill jig all over it. Might the Chicago Tribune being doing the new owner a service? Provide bum reviews and scare off potential visitors?

An honest reporter would have asked for some other cocktail, if the bartender seemed flustered by such a dated order - something else, or at least had the grace to come back again.

The crack head might be back next Sunday, but so will Mrs. Scanlon and all the other worshipers. Likewise, people who know better than some of the Dinny The Dimwits at the Chicago Tribune - a huge demographic that - will crowd the Pump Room.

God separates the chaff from the wheat.