Debt Duel - Obama v. Cantor - Progressives v. Everyone Else

" Stupid Bush. . . . Stupid Congress . . . This is a Big Deal . . . Joe! Wait up, Joe!" ( Photo from Gateway Pundit)

“The meeting ‘ended with the President abruptly walking out of the meeting,’ Cantor told reporters after the session,” per the New York Daily News. "I know why he lost his temper. He's frustrated. We're all frustrated."

The New York Post: “Angry Obama walks out on debt-limit talks.”
The Hill: “Obama warns Cantor: 'Don't call my bluff' in debt-ceiling talks”

Roll Call: “As news broke late Wednesday that Moody’s Investors Service was mulling a downgrade of the U.S. government’s triple-A credit rating, Congressional leaders emerged from a ‘tense’ White House meeting that ended abruptly after a heated exchange between President Barack Obama and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).”

The Wall Street Journal: "Moody's Investors Service said it was reviewing the government's top Aaa bond rating for a possible downgrade, citing the ‘rising possibility’ that the government's $14.29 trillion borrowing limit won't be raised soon enough to prevent the U.S. from running out of money to pay its bills."
Stu Rothenberg’s take: “Fundamentally, the two parties are fighting over values, not dollars. … [I]n reality, what we are witnessing is nothing less than a fight over the role of government. And it is much harder, if not impossible, to “split the difference” on these kinds of matters of opinion.”

In sum, here it is . . .
Who wins?

Low Ceilings Are Intimate, Warm and Good for Americans

High Ceilings are scary.

"We're running out of time," Geithner told reporters after a private lunch meeting with Senate Democrats. Chicago Tribune - I'll just bet that such urgency to raise the national debt ceiling didn't put them off their feed.

It's a cozy little place with subdued lighting and a low ceiling, creating an intimate feel. We were directed to our seats by a pleasant hostess and attended to by a very nice waitress who was attentive and perky. . . ..

Review of a Pub Restaurant

One can not beat a joint that features 'attentive and perky' waitresses. Nor, should one scorn a low ceiling. A lovely woman called my attention to the ceiling phenomenon. As in all things, it takes a woman to address most subjects that do not involve my next meal, episodes of Rawhide on ME-TV, or other less savory instincts. We were passing yet another in the endless and genuinely un-appealing McMansion Developments -homes with very high ceilings - when she lectured me on the psychology of architecture. What follows is what I drew from the lesson.

Too many Americans have fallen into debt by building or re-configuring homes with high ceilings - the boorish and Yup-Scale McMansion -over-priced, over-mortgaged, and over-head ceilings that require more and more adaptors to the wonderful painting idiot-sticks in order to paint the ceilings, or a complete scaffold construction. My son Conor can stand in the living room and apply colonial white to the ceiling with a simple hand-held roller, while Pater Familias Hickey splashes and slathers on egg-shell to the walls in our simple Helot warmth of the Chicago Raised Ranch.

Ever attend a gathering in such a high ceiling-ed home? Guests scatter to cluster in little groups in the primordially human attempt at safety, welcome and warmth. Lessons of the Cave and the Follies of the Temple. I worship at the Catholic Mass of Scared Heart Mission Church where I am tightly packed in with fellow communicants longing to escape the attention of Cantor Terry McEldowney's commentaries. It is old-world worship of intimacy and community rooted in our peasant pasts.

George W. Bush raised the debt ceiling eight times during his two terms and saddled poor President Obama with debt that he feels impelled to excede. President Obama, like that low-brow scoundrel President GW Bush love high ceilings - it keeps the guests at bay.

I say keep the debt ceiling as low as Media Integrity.

Robert Reich Calls Debt Ceiling Debate "a Game of Chicken" - Americans Respond

Former Clinton Secretary of the Labor(NAFTA) Robert Reich calls the debt ceiling impasse - A Game of Chicken.

ROBERT REICH On Why The Wildly Partisan And Theatrical Game Of Chicken Will Miraculously Vanish -- Until 2012
McConnell’s plan would allow the President to raise the debt limit. Congressional Republicans could then vote against the action with resolutions of disapproval. But these resolutions would surely be vetoed by the President. And such a veto, like all vetoes, could only be overridden by two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate – which couldn’t possibly happen with the Democrats in the majority in the Senate and having enough votes in the House to block an override.

Get it? The compromise allows Republicans to vote against raising the debt limit without bearing the horrendous consequences of a government default.

No budget cuts. No tax increases. No clear plan for deficit reduction. Nada. The entire, huge, mind-boggling, wildly partisan, intensely ideological, grandly theatrical, game of chicken miraculously vanishes.

Until the 2012 election, that is.

I no longer trust Channel 9 WGN Weather guru Tom Skilling to tell me the weather forecast, as Amiable Tom has been off his game for some time. Speaking off their game, Financial Rainmakers like Bob Reich, Timmy Geitner and the absent Austin Goolsby cry chicken all the time - America goes on economic Def-Con Six Crisis Mode every time Chris Matthews,Big Ed and everyone else in MSNBC clown car get a memo from Green Energy ( GE) boss Immelt.

Minnesota's Progressive Governor refused to allow his State a Walker Moment and rubbed the Legislature's nose in Dog Food for Grannies and Ecomonic End of Days! No Rapture. The bridges still are up and the State Cops are still pulling over Cheesheads, Hawkeyes and FIPs who get over-served at the Little Red Wing Eye-Opener Pub. The only thing that is down is the Lotto.

I say, Leave the Ceiling where it is!

Other Americans like these lusty young chaps should introduce Robert Reich to the real game at stake here in this our Republic!



Bob is cut!

Com Ed is On It! Imagine if it were a Government Agency.

Monday's brief but bold storm knocked out power all over Chicago Metro Area. A buddy of mine in Morton Grove, the Marathon Pundit his own bad self, John Ruberry, has been doing the 19th Century/21st Century morph -burning candles and using the old palm-messenger device ( which must be re-charged at a library or Starbuck's with power) to keep up on his reading and writing.

The storm knocked out power in the 18th & 19th Wards from 79th Street North to 109th Street south and roughly from Ashland east to Pulaski west. Power was restored by 6 PM on my block between 107th & 108th Street on Monday. Imagine the loss to families in the costs of spoiled meat and other groceries from family stockpiles in the deep freezer. More significantlty, were another gully washing downpour rain upon us, the sump pump has no power.

In all nearly 800,000 customers were without power - multiply that by four ( your basic husband;wife; three kiddies) and that is a crowd of folks.

By this morning, power has been restored to all but about 100,000 customers. That is pretty damn good work.

I know a bunch of Com Ed workers, most significantly the great Gino Ford who coffees up with me at Kean Gas most mornings - no sign of Gino the last three days; that boy has been up the pole, or in the bucket doing his Electrical Voodoo that He Do So Well!

This morning, I got over to Leo especially early and witnessed a parade of utility vehicles -Bucket Lift Rigs of all sizes and shapes and by my estimate there had to be forty, or more vehicles parading west on 79th Street. The odd thing was that they were all from Punta Gorda, FL. ComEd jumped on the crisis and brought in teams from neighboring states,

I found this press release issued from Com ED on July 11th.

ComEd currently has approximately 480 crews in the field and is requesting assistance from all available resources, including contractor crews and assistance of crews from neighboring states. It also has enlisted additional staffing to manage the large volume of calls experienced by the customer call center. Customers also can visit ComEd.com to report outages and follow us on Twitter to obtain restoration information.

“We recognize that power outages disrupt the lives and businesses of our customers,” said Anne Pramaggiore, president and chief operating officer, ComEd. “ComEd crews are working hard to restore service to customers affected by the storm as quickly and safely as possible.”

The powerful storm began moving through the ComEd service territory around 6:00 a.m. and departed by 9:30 a.m. Most damaging to the ComEd system was intense lightning, with high winds as a factor in causing extensive tree damage and bringing down power lines. The resulting outages are more difficult and time consuming to restore as they involve attention to more individualized equipment.

The largest number of outages is located in the company’s northern and western regions. ComEd is working with municipal officials and businesses to provide ongoing updates to them regarding restoration efforts.

ComEd’s restoration process begins with damage assessment, this process enables the company to determine hardest hit areas and factors into restoration times. The company then prioritizes outage restoration to ensure public safety first such as police and fire, then hospitals and other critical customers. Next, ComEd restores feeders, which allows us to return power to large numbers of customers at one time, followed by smaller service restorations and individual outages.

Public safety is paramount during storms and ComEd encourages the public to remember to take the following precautions:

This is great attention to customer service and public safety. We beef about utilities and their cost hikes - I know I do.

However, I was really impressed this morning by number of trucks and command vehicles brought into the Chicago area to fix the power outage. No one can say that Com Ed is not doing everything in its power to restore power.

That power lies in the hands of Gino Ford and guys and girls in the 480 bucket truck crews. Imagine if the utilities were in the hands of the government.

Welcome to Port Au Prince, Illinois.

Great job Com Ed!

Joel Kotkin's Warning to the GOP ( The Party That Blows Its Own Toes Off) -Stick up for the Middle Class

. . . under the first African-American president the employment rate for black men now sits at a record low since the government started measuring the statistic four decades ago.

This recovery has been particularly parlous to the middle class, of all races. Despite the massive stimulus, small businesses — the traditional engines of job growth and upward mobility — have barely gotten off the matt. Indeed, according to a recent National Federation of Independent Business survey, they are now more likely to reduce payrolls than expand them.


Many blue-collar and middle-class Americans are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the future and their children’s chances for achieving their level of well-being. Middle-age college graduates, who supported Obama previously, increasingly have shifted from the administration. Even the young seem to have lost their once fervent enthusiasm. After all, they are seeing their prospects dim dramatically.

In Wisconsin the GOP tried an idiotic dodge to stack the Primaries with Plants and had their asses handed to them. The GOP treats victory like so many Lotto winners - they are broke and worse off after the Big Win.

President Obama has proven himself to be the back-bencher empty suit that many Americans suspected him to be, yet, the GOP is running against President Obama and not for the people his endlessly haughty ineptitudes have harmed.

Instead of treating the patient for skin cancer, Doc Elephant orders a hip replacement. Working to solve the economic undertow destroying the American Middle Class should be the only concern of any Presidential Candidate. Instead, GOP candidates play parlor tricks with social issues. Worse,like the dummies in the Wisconsin GOP, they take pages out of the Progressive Playbook. SEIU/ACORN idiocies should not be a two-way street.

I have been reading Joel Kotkin for years. The guy is a smart and sober observer of social, demographic and political trends. Today in Forbes, Mr. Kotkin offers a stern warning to the Party that Blow Off Its Own Toes:

Of course, not all the blame belongs to the White House. The formerly Democrat-controlled Congress largely ignored the middle class’ concerns over the economy and jobs. Instead they focused on health care — which, according to the Pew Foundation survey, ranks as only a middling concern among voters — and climate change, which ranked dead last among the top 20 issues for the electorate.

Even with the Main Street economy grasping for air, Congress chose to impose new regulations and taxes on the entrepreneurial class. Meanwhile Washington has given huge government support to often marginal green ventures such as Tesla, which is building $80,000 plus electric cars. Such assistance was not extended to the struggling garment-maker or semiconductor plant forced to compete globally largely on their own.

Of course Democrats resort to stirring up class resentments, but their credibility is thin. After all it’s New York Sen. Charles Schumer, not some fat-cat Republican, who remains the financial industry’s designated hitter on the Hill. Instead of chastising the big financial institutions, the administration has largely coddled them. Despite the obvious abuses behind the financial crisis, there have been virtually no prosecutions against what Theodore Roosevelt once identified as “the malefactors of great wealth.”

This has created a class divide large enough to propel a Republican sweep next year. Some Republicans, like former Bush aide Ryan Streeter, understand this opportunity. Streeter argues for the GOP to become more economically populist approach. He calls for an “aspiration agenda” based on policies to spark private sector economic growth and a wide range of entrepreneurial ventures. To succeed, the GOP needs a viable alternative to middle and working class voters who are losing faith in Obama-style crony capitalism but who do not want to replace it with policies focused on enhancing the bottom-lines of the top 1% of the population.

Yet at a time when people are worried primarily about paying their bills and prospects for their children, many Republicans seem determined to campaign on social fundamentalism, something that is already distressingly evident in the Iowa primary race. This may have worked in the past, in generally more prosperous times. Right now what sane person thinks gay marriage is the biggest issue facing the nation?

Neither right-wing ideology nor mindless support for corporate needs constitute a winning strategy in a nation plagued by a sense that the system works only for the rich and well-connected. Only by focusing on working and middle class concerns can the GOP permanently separate the people from the party which pretends to represent them.

Listen hard. Right now, President Obama looks like a lock for a second term.

Villa Rides! Skinny and Houli Live! Ample Parking! July 15th at Jack Desmond's Pub

Brynner and Mitchum!
Skinny and Houli!

Well, in truth, Pancho has not actually mounted a steed in decades - had a little trouble with a pattern of .45 slugs from a Tommy Gun south of the border some time ago, but I digress . . . Pancho Villa has always been one of my favorite Jefes Del Norte* icons and man of singular abilities and motivation . . .that was a tease . . .I'm getting to it! . . . Fine.

Last night, I hit the wake for Ahmad Wali Karzai, took the Red Eye Home in order to help with the debt ceiling mess, clean the gutters again, head back to Kabul and should be back from the funeral sometime Friday afternoon ( skip the repast of course), stop and see Boz at Reilly's Daughter Pub at Midway when I de-plane, drop off my bags Duty Free gifts, and head over to Jack Desmond's Pub for the first live taping of the Skinny and Houli Show which will be broadcast on Saturday at 3 PM. Yep, it's a plan.


You wanna party? We'll party!
The question is rhetorical, but the sentiment genuine. Do Party** (Verb Intransitive: (third-person singular simple present parties, present participle partying, simple past and past participle partied) and all that this portmanteau neologism of lower brows implies

Join us for A Hooley with Skinny & Houli At Jack Desmond's Irish Pub
10339 S. Ridgeland
Chicago Ridge

The Skinny & Houli Show Live! Arriba,Compañeros! Venga Se! Villa Rides!
Friday July 15, 2011
We start taping at 6PM
We're taking our show on the road to hang out at Jack Desmond's, one of our favorite sponsors. Please come on by and join the party.

We need everybody to bring his or her best "Who Cares?" shouts! And we'll bring some surprise guests too!

Don't miss this first ever remote taping of The Skinny & Houli Show
Skinny & Houli every Saturday from 3-4P
WCEV 1450 AM
Skinnyhouli.com
putting real Chicago back in radio

Party, Indeed! Party Hearty! Party Clouded With Slight Chance of Rain!

*

La División del Norte es la formación militar encabezada por Pancho Villa, que obtuvo importantes triunfos en la lucha de la Revolución mexicana. La División del Norte se componía sobre todo de gente del pueblo, rancheros, vaqueros, caporales y otros elementos de la población rural del norte de México. También dio cabida a miembros del ejército federal que lamentaban el asesinato de Francisco I. Madero, por las fuerzas de Victoriano Huerta.
Pancho Villa recibió apoyo de un militar de alta escuela, el general Felipe Ángeles, quien durante la campaña de 1911 a 1914 hacia la ciudad de México siempre fue su asesor estratégico y militar. La División del Norte dominó militarmente el norte del país, lo que permitió a Pancho Villa implantar en esa región una serie de reformas sociales y políticas. Pancho Villa, al mando de la División del Norte, tomó las plazas federales de Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Torreón, Saltillo, Zacatecas, entre otras. Después del triunfo revolucionario contra Huerta, en Julio de 1914, Villa rompió con Venustiano Carranza.
Venustiano Carranza huyó a Veracruz y desde allí lanzó la contraofensiva contra Villa, con la fuerza militar del general Álvaro Obregón.
Álvaro Obregón logró derrotar definitivamente a la División del Norte, en 1915, en las famosas Batallas del Bajío como son: Batalla de Celaya, Batalla de Trinidad, Batalla de León, en donde Obregón perdió un brazo. A partir de entonces, Villa se replegó a Chihuahua, y la División del Norte comenzó su dispersión, hasta quedar reducida a un puñado de hombres que siempre fue fiel a su jefe Pancho Villa. Ya actuando como el famoso guerrillero del norte llego en 1917 a atacar la población de Columbus, Nuevo México.

**

The use of party as a verb is certainly not limited to frat boys, despite their efforts in the verb's activities, and is older even than National Public Radio.

The first recorded use of this sense is in 1919; by 1922 E.E. Cummings was using it in correspondence: "Have extensively partyed with Er former Heditor." It does not seem to have been terrifically common at first, but by the 1940s onwards we can find a large number of examples.

Most of these examples do not suggest that the word is especially slangy, or even informal. Note, for instance, the juxtaposition of the verb with an overly formal avoidance of a sentence-ending preposition in this quotation: "Los Angeles rockers do not lack for private places in which to party" (Time, 1977). (We must acknowlege, though, the probability that the writer was being arch.) While I don't know when NPR first used it, I don't think that their use should be considered that remarkable.

What is more notable is the distinctly slangy use of party down 'to party energetically', a phrase that first emerges in the mid-1970s and was considered slangy from the start: "Going out to a discothèque, dancing for hours, and having a good time. They say to each other, 'Let's party.' Or--and this is the coolest way of saying it--'Let's party down'" (The New Yorker, 1976). These hipsters were ahead of the game; the term became more widely used in the early 1980s. Another more slangy sense is the noun sense 'a sex act with a prostitute' and the corresponding verb 'to copulate, esp. with a prostitute' ("Wanna party?"), both of which arose during the 1940s and are probably rare on NPR.

While we're on the subject, we should mention party animal 'an especially active reveler', from the 1970s, and party hearty! a rhyming compound from about 1980.

The very earliest use of party as a verb was in the seventeenth century, in Scottish use, where the word meant 'to take the part of; side with'.

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19990224

Happy Birthday July 13th 2011 -If This is Your Birthday That Is!

I offer the best on this your Birthday -visual art, poetry, and the incomparable Blossom Dearie -

When You are Old William Butler Yeat

WHEN you are old and gray and full of sleep
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true;
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face.

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead,
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

One of the best people I know was born on this day! This person is private . . .very, very, very private. Therefore, I offer this heart-felt and sincere Happy Birthday ( I am in possession of your birthday present and it is apropos)!

N.B. If today is your Birthday, and you have no contact, association, or familiarity with me, I hope that your Birthday Present from those who love you will be fitting, fun and fantastic! From me, you get a hearty handclap when we meet, but that about sums up the worth of my gift.

July 13 Cancers have a charismatic personality that complements their gentle soul. They have a fear of change yet understand that it is only through change that they are able to discover their true nature. They realize all experience is a rite of passage toward spiritual transcendence.
Cancer Information
for July 13
You should embrace: Truth, mental toughness, sophistication

You should avoid: Vacillation, foolish choices, disapproval
Friends and Lovers

Despite their intelligence, July 13 natives often choose the wrong people to be their friends and lovers. On the face of it, that's not good, but they may learn lessons that can help them later in life. They love with a true heart yet sometimes feel forced to compromise.

Children and Family

July 13 individuals may spend the major part of their lives trying to come to grips with their background. With their own children, they may experience an early emotional separation. This is because they are likely to encourage youngsters to make their own choices and decisions from an early age.

Health

Good health undercut by poor habits characterizes July 13 natives, who dislike monitoring their diet. Although they usually have an active enough lifestyle to avoid putting on weight, they may be denying themselves much-needed nutrients. It's more beneficial for them to indulge in an exercise program on a daily basis.

Career and Finances

July 13 folks do well in professions where they must deal with people one-to-one. Their magnetism makes them both likable and believable. They do especially well in sales positions. Money matters can be complicated for them. They either spend beyond their means or have trouble maintaining a steady income. Fortunately, the acquisition of money isn't one of their primary aims in life.

Dreams and Goals

July 13 natives have high ideals, and they're anxious to fulfill them. If they can influence others positively through their words or actions, they feel as if their fondest wish has come true.

Join the Pea Party!

President Obama Nailing a Pea Sub! or, Is That a Chicago Style Pea Dog?


"Pull off the band aid. Eat our peas." It doesn't sound like much now, but neither did Remember the Alamo!; Don't Tread on Me!, or Can't I Finish My Waffles?

Sacred Cows and Peas are on the menu as it appears that President Obama will beard the lions of the American Tea Party in the den, man-cave. lair, and cable-ready trailers of Average Guy U.S.A.!

What better way than form his own Pea Party!@ Media Matters, Stalking for America, MSNBC, and Salon.

The Pea Party will be dedicated to symbolically yanking off band aids and gobbling platefuls of peas in solidarity with President Obama.

Taxes are peas - Now Open that Gullet! Peas ain't so bad. Peas are mighty tasty.

I like Peas! In Ireland, I learned to love the wonderful snack treat of Chips and Peas ( French Fries and Peas in a greasy mixed bag doused with malt vinegar and sprinkled with Sea Salt) - that's good eating!

Here is how to eat them peas!

Pat Hickey Pancetta Peas with Mint!


Italian cubed pancetta from Calabria Imports on 103rd Street
2 Cups of frozen peas
1 Cup sugarsnap peas
One big-ass knob of Kerry Gold butter
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
a pinch of sugar
Ice Water Bath for the peas

Fill the old kettle with water and put in to boil.

Heat a small frying, add the pancetta and cook over a medium heat for 4-5 mins, stirring occasionally until the pancetta is really crisp and golden.

Drain off excess fat on a kitchen roll and set aside.

As the pancetta cooks, place the frozen peas in a large saucepan, add boiling water from the kettle to cover and return to the boil, add the sugar-snap peas and boil for 3 minutes. Then put them in the old ice water bath to keep the peas the proper green.

Drain in a colander then return them to the saucepan, add the pancetta, butter, mint and sugar and toss well to mix. Toss in some Sea Salt and Carck in a bunch of black pepper. Serve straight away.

Pea Party!

Are there Pea Baggers?

Gov. Quinn's Personal Pronouns - WE then, and now, WE are THEY.

That is WE in the picture.

“We're not going back,” he said. “They made a choice. Any organization that decides that because of the civil unions law that they won't participate voluntarily in a program, that's their choice.” PaT Quinn the "practicing Catholic" Governor.

I am a Catholic. I work at a Catholic High School. I go to Catholic Mass on Sunday with Catholics; some are rich, some are barely making it financially. Governor Quinn signed legislation that allowed homosexuals ( Lesbian, Gay, BiSexual, Transgender and Questioning) form a civil bond that gives them legal and insurance rights as couples.

Gay couples want children and they want what the heart wants and they want it now; therefore the two thousand year and change doctrines of the Catholic Church need to sit down and shut up. It's a civil rights issue, don't you know?

Nah. It is a political issue all about money coalitions and votes . . .and that is Okay.

What is not Okay, is the high heaping helpings of bullshit that pass for political talking points and modern journalism.


Catholic Charities which has cared for orphans and foundlings in its many manifestations long before Jane Addams set eyes on her two life companions at the turn of the century can no longer take care of children by placing them in homes of "Couples." Catholic Charities places children in homes of married couples. Married couples tend to be, at the moment, a man and woman. Civil Union couples can be two guys, two girls, two trandsgender-whatchmancallems- or two Questioning Persons of like like gender who just don't know, yet, if they are wired Delta 230V, or WYE 208 European.

Catholic Charities took care of kids who had no family - a Mom and Dad - and helped find families for those kids for more than two hundred years.

DCFS will take care of kids who need homes, now; that should give everyone pause.

Governor Quinn, a practicing Catholic ( I never understood that verbal - either you are a Catholic, or not all the practice in the world won't change that) tossed out the pronouns because he signed the law, after barely squeaking by Catholic Bill Brady who would not have signed the civil union law. Pat Quinn took care of the PACS that matter - Planned Parenthood & etc. Quinn's Personal Pronoun PACS it seems - They are WE and Catholics are the THEY. I am a THEY. I voted for HIM -QUINN.

What's the matter with ME; what was I thinking? I thought Pat Quinn was the working man Governor, because the skilled trades backed him. Civil Unions? Abortions? Pat Quinn was all about working people who go to Mass, because Pat Quinn is a practicing Catholic. We was We then and We are They. We (I) voted for Quinn, but now that I am THEY that is all changed. I don't have any money. Terry Cosgrove of Personal PAC/LGBTQ PACs has lots of money. Terry Cosgrove is a solid WE and I am a solid though impecunious THEY. I now understand the Quinn Personal Pronoun.

I now know what a practicing Catholic is - an elected official who could care less about anything.

Catholics, Lutherans and Evangelicals are THEY . . .now. WE was WE then and I voted voted with WE . . .then.

Abortion and Gay Marriage ( Civil Union the sequal)is WE . . . now. WE ARE NOT GOING BACK!!!!!

Nothing there back here any more, Guv.

Ars Amatoria When the Discovery Channel Came to Keegan's Pub

Me Venus artificem tenero praefecit Amori * P. OVIDIVS NASO
(43 B.C. – 17 A.D.)



An Octopus walks into Keegan's Pub on Western Ave. and says "I can play any musical instrument you like".

Seb(astian) Costin, Keegan's resident Jazz guru and Cat of the 1st Order, gives him a guitar, which it plays better than Peter Bernstein, or Wes Montgomery - Down Here on the Ground!

Celebrated roofer and roué of legend, Eddie Carroll, was amused.

"Wow! Try this!" and Seb rolls over an upright Steinway 88, which the cephalopod mollusc played better than Errol Garmer's . I Remember April.

The Morgan Park Chevalier Eddie Carrol cocked an eyebrow in bemused interest.

Donal McBennett from the Isle of Sky - he's no very big and he's awfully shy - throws the creature a set of HEELAND bagpipes.The octopus fumbles about for a couple of minutes without a sound from the bagpipes and the Scotsman wails, "Whut's wrooong, Ken ye no play ut"?

The octopus rejoins, "Play It? I'm gonna screw her brains out once I get her pajamas off!"

Eddie Carroll, the celebrated roofing contractor and swordsman, is mildly amused. "As in all things, roofing and love, first things first." And Eddie alighted from his stool and awed one and all . . .



. . .as is His wont.


*Venus appointed me as guide to gentle Love

Announcing Windsor & Windsor Personal Injury: At Windsor and Windsor - WE look out for you!

My Bride and I are touring the Colonies and establishing branch offices of Windsor and Windsor,PC. The regal cache might not be enough to attract clients, but the time tested use of cowboy hats by personal injury lawyers will lend a certain majesty and rough-hewn prairie surety to every claim the Duchess of Cambridge and I bring to the bar.

May I Willie, Hello I am Kate. This is no boutique firm! We will fight for you.

Windsor and Windsor® is a family business that began on June 10, Year of Our Lord 2011, when a discouraged and almost penniless ex-New York stock-broker walked unannounced into Willie Windsor's tiny office New York. The stockbroker had been injured by falling clients and eventually became disabled, but his application for disability benefits had been turned down by the Social Security Administration.
He threw a challenge at Willie. He said, "I need a guy to represent me who is a genuine expert on Social Security Disability benefits. Is that you?" Willie has always liked challenges — and stock brokers.

As Willie always says, "They do stuff I'd be scared to do once, and they do it every day." So Willie hit the law books. And that was the start of a long, difficult and expensive campaign to expose one of our government's best-kept secrets — the disability benefits available through Social Security. Joined his wife, Willie is fighyting for that stockbroker. There was also that absolutely smashing HBO documentary about Personal Injury Litigators "Hot Coffee" which showed the world just how selfless PI lawyers really are -they are all Princes!

Together we formed Windsor & Windsor®. No problem too big and no claim too small!

Quite so Darling. Allow me to finish up by saying Don't Ever Give Up. We will get you your rights!

If you're disabled and you can't work anymore, call Windsor & Windor® at 1-800-8WINDSOR or contact us online for a free initial consultation. Don't ever give up.

Ask for Willie or Kate, we answer our own phones.


The Sun Never Sets On Your Side! We wear cowboy hats . . .crowns when necessary, mind.


SSD, SSI AND YOUR PAIN
CARDIAC/VASCULAR DISORDERS
MENTAL HEALTH
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Bipolar Disorder
Major Depressive Disorder
ORTHOPEDIC INJURIES
Leg, Knee & Ankle Disorders and Injuries
Hip Injuries
Arm Injuries
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Back Injuries and Diseases
NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
SLEEP DISORDERS
FIBROMYALGIA
HEADACHES
BLOOD DISORDERS
DIABETES MELLITUS
AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES/AIDS AND HIV
CANCER
STOMACH, INTESTINE AND LIVER DISORDERS
PULMONARY DISORDERS/LUNG DISEASES
ACCIDENTS THAT LEAD TO LOSS OF WORK
Workplace Accidents/Workers' Compensation
Car Accidents
Other Accidents/Accidents at Home
WORKERS COMPENSATION NEW YORK
LONG TERM DISABILITY
IF YOU NEED PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IN OTHER AREAS

N.B. = A Tip of the Bowler to the Brothers Binder

Junior Brown - Real Country -Slicker Than Snot on a Door-Knob!

"A lot of people tell me they don't like country music, but they like what I am doing," says Junior Brown.

My daughter Clare and her Mother McAuley/Marist/ St. Iggy pals like what now passes for Country Music. Taylor Swift & etc. Now, Junior Brown, like Hank willimas ( Pere et Fil), Waylon Jennings, David Allan Coe, Bob Wills, Kinky Friedman, Buck Owens and other Genuine Outlaws was the real deal. Lookee H'yar! Guit With It!

It's good to see you baby it's been a long long while
We're both a whole lot older and seen a lot of miles
But thing are different now since the good ol days
And youve been in some trouble
Since we went our separate ways
Well have to say hello maybe some other time instead
Cause youre wanted by the police
And my wife thinks youre dead.

Somebody spread the rumor that you had lost your life
Least thats the way I heard it and what I told my wife
Now here youre showing up again and talk is getting round
And I can see that one of us will have to leave this town
If you think that I want trouble
Than youre crazy in your head
Cause youre wanted by the police
And my wife thinks youre dead.

You never called or wrote me just up and disappeared
Nobody knew what happened
Where you been for all these years
Now troubles what youre lookin like
Cause troubles where you been
And I can see the kind of trouble you could get me in
You better pay attention to every word I said
Cause youre wanted by the police
And my wife thinks youre dead.

So goodbye to you baby Im glad weve got to talk
But Im faithful to my wife and I dont ever break the law
I dont know where youre headed for
But I know where you been
Were reminisced now lets just go our separate ways again
Go find another ex-sweetheart to hang around instead
Because youre wanted by the police
And my wife thinks youre dead.

Beaux Arts - The Mona Lisa of Dogs of Playing Poker

The experiential test of whether this art is great or good, or minor or abysmal is the effect it has on your own sense of the world and of yourself. Great art changes you. -Sister Wendy Beckett

Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. ~Henry Ward Beecher

The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life. ~William Faulkner


Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. ~Pablo Picasso

I have stood in the galleries of emerging artists, the corridors of the heady Museum of Contemporary Art, at the bar of Gallery Cabaret, whose walls adorn the creative genius of local bohemians and sat before the majestic oils of Tintoretto, Cimabue, Giotto, Rembrandt, Monet and Renoir at the Art Institute of Chicago and intoxicated my soul and manly fibers with Man's attempt to arrest God's handiwork.

My late wife Mary Cleary Hickey (1957-1998) dabbled in oils and had mastered coals and water colors and taught hundreds of teenagers to practice human expression at Bishop McNamara, LeMans Academy, and Bishop Noll Institute. She drank pitchers of beer with Ed Paschke, Jim Dine, and local Kankakee, Chicago and Indiana artists. Mary was Bauhaus.

Me? I can appreciate art, but I know what I like and that is Dogs Playing Pool, Poker, Three Card Monte and anything else.

As far as the two and three dimensional visual arts go, this Jasper's eyebrows meet his fore-lock.

I have found the Mona Lisa of my Genre! Dan McManis is my Leonardo! Here is the masterpiece! Voila!




McManis' delicate application of light . . . I am spechless! The kinetic energy captured in a moment unites, once again, the finger tip of God and Man!

I am overwhelmed. I'm gonna fix me a plate full of hash and eggs!

Why Banks Remain Safe in Ireland

Patience is poultice for all wounds. Irish Proverb

Urban Violence with George Sanders - Hug a Thug and 19th Century Ideas Will Not Work

Chicago is plagued with violence and thuggery. Thugs were a plague to the British Empire. The Thug Behram Cult* ultimately was dealt with, but not via community outreach, Ceasfire, Peoples Law Office and Jon Loevy Venture Capital for Convicted Thugs, funded Federal Mandates, or Free T-Shirts.

The British attempted many such programs in colonial India.





*Thug Behram (ca 1765–1840) of the Thuggee cult in India, was one of the world's most prolific killers. He may have murdered up to 931 victims by strangulation between 1790–1840 with the ceremonial cloth (or rumal, which in Hindi means handkerchief), used by his cult. Behram was executed in 1840 by hanging.

Whatever Happened to the "Street Lights Are On!" Parental Ordinance?

Little guys in Morgan Park neighborhood (St. Cajetan's Parish) only seconds away from the dreaded "Street Lights R On!" Ordinance. - Universally agreed upon and universally enforced.


Chicago City Council -the Aldermen - know how to pass ordinances that keep fois gras off the the gustatory line-up; end American involvement in foreign war; pad their bank accounts . . .! However, they are especially adept at getting their constituents to stop calling -"What are you doing to save the children?" -(riiiing)'Welcome to the Ward Office! for English Press One, For Tagalog Press Three, all others Press Hold. . . . Press one for Alderman B. Arely There's Ward Office Phone Call Ordinance # A-666 which Levies a Surcharge of $20.00 charged to the AT &T Spanish American War Tax of 1897 - on your monthly Bill, which applies to a special Save our Kids From You Name It in 2012 Budget.' Thank you for Calling and Call Often.'

Little kids are getting mowed down at 3:20 AM while helping bring in the family dog for the night.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/crime/6367389-418/9-year-old-boy-shot-in-head-in-roseland-neighborhood.html

What's City Council to do?

Chicago kids under the age of 12 would have to be in the house by 8:30 p.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. on weekends, under a curfew crackdown proposed by three South Side aldermen Wednesday to rein in “unsupervised” children.

Public Safety Committee Chairman Michelle Harris (8th) joined Aldermen Toni Foulkes (15th) and Lona Lane (18th) in proposing the revised curfew ordinance, the second in three years to turn back the curfew clock.

Several parents told the Chicago Sun-Times Wednesday that the proposal is just what’s needed at a time when some moms and dads aren’t taking their responsibilities seriously.

“We’re at a point where we have to be more conscious of where our children are,” said Toseima Jiles, 33, of Hyde Park, who has two boys, ages 6 and 5. “When I was growing up, your parents knew where you were, the neighbors knew where you were. ... I think we’re getting away from that.”

But parent Karen Hobbs dismissed the proposed curfew as a case of governmental meddling.

Whatever happened to "Hey, Street Lights Are On!"

Moms and Dads sit out on the porch and watch the kids grab fireflies and play Chase in between the alleys and gangways and when Com Ed hits the switch and street lights go on the little guys are in the house.

This time-honored mandate only required parents and neighbors. Didn't cost nothing.

I Have Absolutely Nothing to Complain About . . . But, This Gent Just Might!

Michael Moriarty reminded me this morning that it is the small blessings that mean everything.

Five people have been injured in the first day of the San Fermin festival, in the race known as the running of the bullsA Spanish Red Cross spokesman said that a total of four people needed treatment by medical staff and one was hospitalised after falling.
Tens of thousands of people packed into Pamplona's main square on Wednesday for the start of the annual event... Sky News London.

Jon Loevy -"cold-cocked him right in the face," As Opposed to . . .? Ambulance Chaser's Video is Equally as Clear as The Cal-Sag After a Flood.

Jon Loevy has made a fortune using the media to help him rake in tax-payer dollars from Thug Happy lawsuits.

Jon Loevy is as responsible for the North Avenue Beach closings, Boystown beat-downs, Anywhere Chicago thug beat-downs, 'crimes of opportunity,' Roseland 24/7, and the loss of revenue at Taste of Chicago, as all of the other bottom-feeding lawyers/activists who use the Sherwin Williams Race Paint in undermining confidence in Law and Law officials ( all cops, some States Attorneys, and the better judges).

If your kids ask why they can no longer ride the CTA and Metra, go to Grant Park, River North, McDonald's, Walgreens, Louis Vitton, AMC theatres, or perhaps with current City Council legislation,stay out in front of the house past 8:30 PM, tell the wee ones, "Jon Loevy needs to make more money, honeys"

Jon Loevy is no dope;nor, is he in any way interested what you Chicagoans think about our City-wide Thug Comfort Zone. Jon Loevy is all about using the media, gutless elected officials, and group-thought do-gooder loud-mouths who seem to subsist on a steady diet of bullshit, to amass more millions.

Get a load of this video that Jon Loevy trotted out for his latest shakedown:



According to the Tribune's Breaking News (click my post title)Lawyer Loevy added with characteristically faux broad shouldered street cred that a police officer bitch slapped his client -"cold-cocked him right in the face."

Can one be 'cold-cocked' from a blow to another part of the human anatomy? From the video one can clearly ascertain that some mischief is afoot.

Police violence?

-". . . cold-cocked him right in the the tender part of the upper arm he did."

Time to Get Serious About Gaza

Some people just can not forget the OJ acquittal.

I deleted a rather amusing though fetid comment concerning my point of view with regards to the Gaza situation and the Second Flotilla. It was rather long and contained a litany of Hamas talking points, interspersed with Progressive language and misspellings, as well some sobering reflections and talking points that I must attend to and assume with regard to my continued carbon foot-printing of Mother Earth. Goats, melons, myself and boys of all ages are out of the question, Sir!

All serious people, the Anonymous scribe noted, are for the Palestinians because the Jews control the Vatican, the Media, The Congress, Texas Rangers, Most of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Cable TV, Carnival Rides, Tin-Pan Alley, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Jesse Jackson's Dinning Room Centerpiece, The CTA 49A Western Bus Route, The Flow of the Chicago River, Boystown Violence, Black Flash Thugs, Jon Burge, Wesley Snipes, The Great Taste of Miller High Life, Dewey Kilbride's Dance Shoes, Kankakee ELK Lodge 627, The Millard Fillmore Society, the late Det. Billy Higgins' Bar Stool at Keegan's Pub on Western, Bill Veck's Leg, . . . and the Mormon Tabernacle Janitor Crew

Time to get serious -

Two Hamas Pappys are sitting in a Gaza Strip bar chatting over a pint of fermented goat’s milk, last Fathers Day.

One pulls his wallet out and starts flipping through pictures and they start reminiscing.

"This is my oldest son, he’s a martyr."

"This is my second son. He is a martyr also."

After a pause and a deep sigh, the second Père Hamas says wistfully,
"They blow up so fast, don’t they?"

Seriously. Rockets are not much of a giggle during the mid-day Soaps.

* This is serious -Who is behind the second Gaza flotilla?
JULY 1, 2011 BY GAZAFLOTILLA101 (click my post title for more serious news)

The second flotilla is coordinated by Muhammad Sawalha, a senior UK-based Muslim Brotherhood figure connected to Hamas. Many of the participating organizations can be directly linked with the Union of Good (UoG), a coalition of European charities affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, which in 2008 was designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Treasury for transferring funds to Hamas. The UoG was initiated by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood on a global scale, shortly after the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000.

… Other main organizers include the anti-Israel International Solidarity Movement (ISM), as well as far-left socialists from Europe and the United States. Many of the flotilla’s main organizers have stated that its prime aim is to create provocations and harm Israel’s image. … the flotilla is far from being a peaceful, humanitarian effort to support the Palestinians in Gaza. It should instead be seen as a major, pro-Hamas effort to delegitimize Israel by a “red-green alliance” of leftists and Islamists.

Planned Parenthood Branch Drug Test Results

On January 20, 2009, a new day dawns for reproductive health and rights with the inauguration of President Barack Obama, who makes clear his commitment to ensuring access to comprehensive health care for women and their families. With a partner in the White House and allies in Congress, Planned Parenthood renews its efforts to help secure reproductive rights and define health care reform for the 21st century. Planned Parenthood

Q. How many Progressives does it take to change a light bulb?

A. None. Well aren't you the fool! Why change things when you can get a judge to ban them?

Well, there is drug testing in the work place. I suppose that Planned Parenthood has random, but mandatory drug tests. After all, what's Federal mandates but Choice with teeth?

Imagine this - Ariadne Carbunquel, Director of Planned Parenthood Locale calls her staff together.

" Women and Opposite Gender Staff. Last week, each of you contributed a sample of your precious but superfluous essence. These samples were sent to a lab. None of the samples tested positive for drug use of any kind, I am happy to report, but there was a most disturbing finding. ( pregnant pause) This branch has a case of Syphlis!




After a moment of sober reflection Ms. Medea Tueur-d'enfants chirped happily, "Thank Goodness! I am sick to death of Merlot."



This touching tale was redacted from musing of Houston Attorney and NFL great Eddie Burke.





http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/history-and-successes.htm