Friday, June 15, 2012

Catholic Mother Jones Would Spit in the Eye of ACLU Hypocrisy and Anti-Catholic Bigotry




“Some day the workers will take possession of your city hall, and when we do, no child will be sacrificed on the altar of profit!” Mary Harris "Mother" Jones(August 1, 1837 – November 30, 1930)


Nothing seems more profitable than the murder of children by Progressive America. Abortion is the tide that lifts every secularist boat - gay marriage, redistribution of wealth, Green everything are tied to the apron strings of the American Dowager Class - Planned Parenthood.  


Progressive thought requires a collective tabula rasa - erase history and begin anew. E.G. Mary Harris Jones, or Mother Jones. Progressives have been re-writing and burning history for decades and have succeeded in hoodwinking Americans that social justice has nothing to do with the Catholic Church in America,  The Progressive treatment of Mother Jones informs one-and-all that Mother Jones was born and baptized a Roman Catholic and attributes here ';hell-raising' ways to her rebel Cork, Ireland beginnings.  The common Progressive thread leads the un-discerning reader to assume that she repudiated her Faith in favor of Radical Socialism and Third Wave Feminism and found solace and comfort and support in godlees Hegelian community activism. Facts are swords. Group thought is fragile. In fact, Marry Harris Jones repudiated not the Faith of her birth and baptism, but the secularist and murderous ideologies of the Progressive.


Ignored is the fact that Mary Harris Jones ended her 93 years of teaching in Catholic schools, sewing for the rich Yanks of Chicago, fighting with and for the Knights of Labor, organizing and then repudiating the United Mine Workers as well as the Socialist Party of America, with last rites of her Roman Catholic Faith and burial along side the miners of southern Illinois. 
 ( The Roman Catholic Funeral Mass for Mary Harris "Mother" Jones at the Church of Ascension in Mount Olive, IL 1930)


Mary Harris Jones, for whom the anti-Catholic and secularist magazine is named, was buried in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church from the Church of Ascension in Mount Olive, IL - facts are such troubling things. Mother Jones 
would spit in the eye of the Dowager Class and its murderous self-interest.



 ( Pleae note the Roman Catholic Crucifix on the coffin of Mother Jones)


Last month, when forty plus Roman Catholic Dioceses brought suit against the Obama Regime's HHS Mandate, Mother Jones magazine said this - 


"The ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project recently won its lawsuit against HHS over a federal grant through which USCCB provided services to human trafficking victims. The bishops had refused to allow subcontractors to use the federal money to refer women for reproductive health services. In 2009, the ACLU filed suit arguing that under the contract the USCCB (and by extension, the federal government) was unconstitutionally foisting Catholic religious beliefs on the larger public. (The Obama administration last year refused to renew the contract,prompting even more outrage from USCCB, which accused the administration of operating an "ABC policy," or "Anyone But Catholics."). . . Real religious freedom gives everyone the right to make personal decisions, ( How baout a 24 oz. Big Gulp Chalice full of  grape NeHi?) including whether and when to use birth control, based on our beliefs. It doesn't give one group the right to impose its beliefs on others, (Gay Marriage?) or to use religion as an excuse to discriminate by denying employees access to vital services. The fight they are waging isn't about religious liberty at all, but about whether a woman should have insurance coverage for birth control. When you stop and think about it, it's incredible that this is an issue in 2012 Mother Jones May 22, 2012


Mother Mary? "Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living." Thank you, Mother Jones!  The living children about to be murdered in their mother's wombs are alive, until the Dowager Class gets more of its way with the help of sharks of the ACLU.


The ACLU's Alicia Gay warns that the "powerful lobbying arm of the Catholic Church" mistakenly claims that the HHS contraception mandate violates their religious liberty. ACLU February 2012


Is that a mistake Mother Mary Jones? 


“Injustice boils in men's hearts as does steel in its cauldron, ready to pour forth, white hot, in the fullness of time”

You got that right Mother Dear.


Mother Jones once said, " God Almighty made Women and the . . .( Rockefeller) gang of thieves made ladies.  These daughters of Rockefeller are Planned Parenthood and the Abortion Industry. They made Barack Obama President and his Government made war on Mother Jones as well as all of us Catholics. I agree with Mother Jones that "Movements to suppress wrongs can be carried out under the protection of the flag." I also believe that the current regime and its allies in the media alone decides who gets that protection and the Catholic Church does not fit the bill.


Mother Jones can be witnessed in the actions of the USCCB, Cardinal George, Cardinal Dolan and the Thomas More Society.
Mother Jones Rallied for Religious Liberty in most cities of America on June 8th, 2012.


Mother Jones would spit in the collective Progressive eyes - the lot of them. She was not a humanitarian; she was hell-raiser.  Watch some hell-raising from Catholics who read and remember.





In his eulogy, Father J. W. R. Maquire * said Jones would find miners living in tents, the serfs of coal companies and left them free and independent men. “Because of her great struggle for economic justice, she became a world figure.”
What seems left unsaid, is her great Catholic faith


Church of the Ascension -705 E. Main Street-Mount Olive, IL 62069-0259 US
Fr Larry Anschutz
Phone:(217) 999-4981
Fax:(217) 999-4036


 **              Six Things Everyone Should Know About The HHS Mandate

February 6, 2012WASHINGTON— The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offers the following clarifications regarding the Health and Human Services regulations on mandatory coverage of contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs.
1.The mandate does not exempt Catholic charities, schools, universities, or hospitals. These institutions are vital to the mission of the Church, but HHS does not deem them "religious employers" worthy of conscience protection, because they do not "serve primarily persons who share the[ir] religious tenets."HHS denies these organizations religious freedom precisely because their purpose is to serve the common good of society—a purpose that government should encourage, not punish.
2.The mandate forces these institutions and others, against their conscience, to pay for things they consider immoral. Under the mandate, the government forces religious insurers to write policies that violate their beliefs;forces religious employers and schools to sponsor and subsidize coverage that violates their beliefs; and forces religious employees and students to purchase coverage that violates their beliefs.
3.The mandate forces coverage of sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs and devices as well as contraception.   Though commonly called the "contraceptive mandate," HHS's mandate also forces employers to sponsor and subsidize coverage of sterilization.And by including all drugs approved by the FDA for use as contraceptives, the HHS mandate includes drugs that can induce abortion, such as "Ella," a close cousin of the abortion pill RU-486.
4.Catholics of all political persuasions are unified in their opposition to the mandateCatholics who have long supported this Administration and its healthcare policies have publicly criticized HHS's decision, including columnists E.J. Dionne. . . , Mark Shields. . . , and Michael Sean Winters. . . ; college presidents Father John Jenkins. . . and Arturo Chavez. . . ; and Daughter of Charity Sister Carol Keehan. . . , president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of the United States.
5.Many other religious and secular people and groups have spoken out strongly against the mandate. Many recognize this as an assault on the broader principle of religious liberty, even if they disagree with the Church on the underlying moral question.For example, Protestant Christian. . . , Orthodox Christian. . . , andOrthodox Jewish. . . groups--none of which oppose contraception--have issued statements against the HHS's decision.The Washington Post. . . , USA Today. . . , N.Y. Daily News. . . , Detroit News. . . , and other secular outlets, columnists. . . , andbloggers. . . have editorialized against it.6.The federal mandate is much stricter than existing state mandates. HHS chose the narrowest state-level religious exemption as the model for its own.That exemption was drafted by the ACLU and exists in only 3 states (New York, California, Oregon).Even without a religious exemption, religious employers can already avoid the contraceptive mandates in 28 states by self-insuring their prescription drug coverage, dropping that coverage altogether, or opting for regulation under a federal law (ERISA) that pre-empts state law.The HHS mandate closes off all these avenues of relief.
Additional information on the U.S. Catholic bishops’ stance on religious liberty, conscience protection and the HHS ruling regarding mandatory coverage of contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs is available athttp://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/index.cfm.---Keywords: religious freedom, freedom of conscience, Catholic charities, hospitals, schools, universities, religious employers, mandatory coverage, contraceptives, abortion, sterilization, HHS mandate, health care policies, religious exemption
# # # # #
MEDIA CONTACT: Mar Muñoz-Visoso O: 202-541-3202 M: 301-646-8616 Email http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/aclu-catholic-religious-liberty-not-risk/362671

Thursday, June 14, 2012

And YOU think this is Funny?!!!? . . .Sort of .. . Well, Yes, . . .Yes I Do.

 There are women and then there are . . .Babes attacked by Baboons, Nazi-C-Cup Cakes, Asian Pirate Queens with Bad Tempers and Dames You Are Noooooooooot Quite Sure About But With Legs Up-to H'Yar!


Women nurture, tolerate, soothe, encourage, motivate and feed us.


The others?  They are fictive loin zippos for healthy young males and patheic old gents. I tend to be both.  I am close to six decades of twelve year old sensibilites. Call me Sparky Loyns.  


I was sent to the barber shop as often as to the Confessional - weekly.  My Dad could tell which barber shop was engaged by the level of lust radiating from my adolescent musk factory and sneaky furtive eyes.


 t   Max Esposito's at 79th & Asland was G-Rated






 Mac's on 78th & Paulina gave free Pepsi and was a Book. Adult Amusement Solely but free pop and usually a losing horse-player did the cutting. " Know difference between a good and bad haircut, Kid?  Butch Wax and two weeks . . .now, blow!"



                                                             Dom's on 79th Walcott was PG 13

Casey's on Damen was R-Rated (Guess who controlled the double-digit male demographic?)                                                                          


The world we live is in no joke; therefore we must do everything that is in our power to make do with opportunity and the right viewing material.


This is an exceptionally compelling feature, in my opinion. The Waitress Masked Monkey!








Conservative?  I suppose.


Dashing?  Oh, ever defiantly so!


http://boingboing.net/?s=mean+monkey+monday

Val -"Des Ain't Coming!" Brand Obama 2012 - The I in Team!

Brand Obama Proves It!

Big Val Jarrett Wedding Do on Saturday and Brand Obama - The I in Team Regime will be there, but not the gal who minted the term.

But Desiree Rogers, the first African-American to become the White House Social Secretary, has been dissed.
◆Translation: Rogers has not been invited to the backyard Kenwood wedding this weekend for the daughter of the ultimate White House insider/Rogers’ former “closer-than-glue” best friend, White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett.

Dang. Neither me nor Desiree Rogers were invited to Val Jarrett's daughter's wedding.  I did not expect an invitation, but I am sure that Desiree Rogers did.  Allison Davis, the Slumdog Millionaire and Obama's Progressive Chinaman, will be there along with Brand Obama folks.

It is said to be a Hyde Park backyard affair, which in my experience tends to be about as fun and friendly as a Cash-bar Quaker Rage Encounter Group.  I expect that Val will have pairs of Mormon Missionaries on the stools of the dunk tanks and MSNBC anchors blowing balloon animals for the kids.

Desiree will more than likely go to Millennium Park for the free concert on Saturday*.  I'm going to soak up some Liszt, Schuman, Handel and Gandolfini - no not the guy from the Sopranos. Poor Desiree. I picture Ms. Rogers wearing her dependable yellow Wellingtons from her Peoples Gas days, walking sadly but stoically smiling above an elegant outfit and them knock-out Peoples Gas yellow-rubber boots strolling between blankets and porto-lounger chairs in a vain attempt to coax an invitation to join a parliament of culture vultures like me and my pals for some Triscuits, olive loaf and Velveeta Cubes washed down with chilled Country Club Malt Liquor. Brand Hickey is welcoming, but certainly not presumptuous.
Remember these two scamps and vamps? No longer BFFes.

Desiree minted Brand Obama and Brand Obama turned around and smelted** Desiree out of the Obama (MY) White House. Well she most be in pain over the slights to her efforts, but Desiree will never be caught dumpster diving. She's fine - CEO Will Travel and Has Traveled.

President Obama of Brand Obama calls it his White House. What happened to that lefty Peoples White House, or was it Some Peoples White House?

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_ZRNn1dvkaE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>iframe>
I have never really cottoned to Barack Obama, though we have met more than a few times.  I have been always 'underwhelmed' by the gent.  Nice guy.  There's millions of nice guys.  He never struck me as an intellectual titan and reminded me of Flounder in movie Animal House -


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_UpFqL8hkwE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>iframe>

As a State Senator, about 2003, I quess,  I had to squire Mr. Obama to the ring in order to present trophies to two boxers.  State Rep. Kevin McCarthy Leo '68) presented the previous bout's awards.  The future White House occupant, Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Chief Executive asked me upon approaching the square ring, "Where's the gate?"

Between the ropes Senator.  Smartest guy in them shoes! Kevin McCarthy, and eight other VIPS as well as sixteen boxers had climbed through the ropes previously.  I do pick a nit.

Well that's just pee in the Wheaties, as they say.

I have the same job I had when President Obama was stamping his name on Woods Fund and Annenberg Challenge stationary under the watchful eye of Billy Ayers, when lost both cheeks of his ass to Bobby Rush, when he was wedged in as State Senator and smoothed over Danny Hynes for U.S. Senator, when he eclipsed the then very tubby Jesse Jackson Junior at John Kerry's Run- DNC Convention, when he won the Presidency over John McCain, whom I backed- more fool me - and when he took the oath of Office and launched Desiree Rogers' Brand Obama.  Yep, much work to be done for Leo High School.

Brand Obama 2012 has no room for Desiree Rogers.  That seems just mean. Barred from a backyard fete in Hyde Park.  Well, if I see her wandering around Millennium on Saturday night, I offer the poor thing a some olive loaf/Velveeta canapes and a frosty can of Country Club ML. (Note to Steve Jordan - DO NOT get Mickey's Big Mouths - get the Country Club - it matters)

So long as Barack "Where's the Gate?" Obama is my Commander in Chief, he can determine whom one should and may invite to any Hyde Park Hootenanny.  It is His White House.

*
WHEN
Friday, June 15, 2012, 6:30pmSaturday, June 16, 2012, 7:30pmOpen Rehearsal: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 3:00pm – 5:30pm
Open Rehearsal: Thursday, June 14, 2012, 10:30am – 1:00pm
Open Rehearsal: Friday, June 15, 2012, 11:00am – 1:30pm
Fundraiser: Friday, June 15, 2012, 8:00pm
Club 615: Saturday, June 16, 2012, 6:15pm – 7:00pm
WHERE
Jay Pritzker Pavilion
* Club 615: Choral Hall
WHO
Grant Park Orchestra And Chorus
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Christopher Bell, Chorus Director
WHAT

Liszt: Les PréludesSchuman: A Free SongHandel: Royal Fireworks MusicGandolfi: Only Converge: An Exaltation of PlaceProgram Notes 

**Smelting involves more than just melting the metal out of its ore. Most ores are a chemical compound of the metal with other elements, such as oxygen (as an oxide), sulfur (as a sulfide) or carbon and oxygen together (as a carbonate). To produce the metal, these compounds have to undergo a chemical reaction. Smelting therefore consists of using suitable reducing substances that will combine with those oxidizing elements to free the metal.




http://www.lipstickalley.com/f15/desiree-rogers-snubbed-dissed-former-bff-valerie-jarrett-404283/
http://www.neatorama.com/2012/06/13/there-is-an-i-in-team/





Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Roofer & Philosopher Eddie Carroll on Chinese Astronaut Babes

"Well, mine is pretty nice . . ." Eddie Carroll

As I pulled into my drive-way on 108th Street at Rockwell, I spied a neighborhood icon starring up at my roof.  It was none other than Eddie Carroll, President and CEO of Carroll Roofing -'Old World Craftsmanship - We hire Only DPs from Eastern Europe and pass the savings on to you.'

Roofing Contractor Eddie Carroll, as readers of this Blog (Seb Costin and Aunt Aurelia) will recall, is a Morgan Park father-figure, accomplished but always discreet sexual swordsman, wit and master of disguises. Eddie eyes scanned sky-ward and peripheral vision took in my approach signalled by a beckoning arm.

" You have some pinched tiles up there, Patrick My Boy; when did you last have your home shingled?"

2000, Eddie.

" I need not ask who did your work as it is as plain as the nose on a homely Serbian girl's face.  It is clear that you did not engage Carroll Roofing and Construction"

As you might recall when I tried to engage you at that time, you indicated that your charitable work with Air Icelandic took up far too much your time.

" Spot on, Patrick!  Sorry for my pique. Those poor girls at least had a place to hang their natty-flight caps after long, tiring and lonesome flights from Reykjavik to O'Hare.  Carroll House was more than a home to those blue-eyed and shapely waifs, it was welcome, warmth and one hell of a workout.  The funding ran-out quicker than some of the more timid stewardesses, thanks to the Bush Economy inherited by My President."

'Tis so.How long before I need a cover? The last one was a tear off.

" It was a rip-off you mean.  That roof should have been good until 2015 - honor bright.  Let me quote you and I'll stick it in your mail box by the end of the week. Your children sleep beneath this shoddy work. Skimp not, as a father."

Eddie never once took his eyes off of the roof but they now elevated towards the heavens.

" Heaven is our destination, whether we gain entry or not is up to what we do here on earth.  I do what I can and certainly know that you do the same given the work that you and Dan do for the young gents at Leo.  We are all too often our own worst enemies, Patrick. Sin begets sin and we must always be aware that sin is what it is and not something else."

How do you mean?

"At the height of the Spanish Civil War, Time Magazine asked Pope Pius XI what was the greatest threat to the church - Soviet or Fascist ideology. Time always a rabid anti-Catholic rag like the Chicago Tribune attempted to play the pharisee to the Pope -Vicar of Christ. His Holiness confounded the sneaks and said 'The Church’s worst persecutors have been her own unfaithful bishops, priests, and religious. Opposition from outside is terrible; it gives us many martyrs. But the Church’s worst enemy is her own traitors.'


"You see?  Sin takes no sides.  We like to believe that while we sin we are somehow doing good. Chesterton remarked to a similar sneaky question posed him when he was welcomed into the Faith - Why are you becoming Catholic?  The rotund wag rejoined, 'Why to have my sins forgiven.' It is only through the Mystical Body of Christ that sin may be forgiven.  Sin is not expunged by a committee of nuns, or some guy named Sister Farley with a best seller about Catholics and Sex; Oh, no my friend.  The Church is as fixed in its doctrines as your roof will be."

I see that you have read Father Schall's latest piece from The Catholic Thing! And these observations -roofing, the heavens and sin - will be merged shortly?

Look heaven-ward, Patrick - I never miss that Jesuit's insights -beyond your roof.  Heaven is fixed -our destination.  Shortly two Chinese fighter pilots sans the old marriage tackle* will fight gravity and ascend to the Empyrean.  I recall reading as a young lad in the barber shop over by Damen - Casey's about Chinese Babes who were Commie Jet Jockeys in Korea.  . . .

These Mig Maids went against our John Glenns and Ted Williams in Sabers over the Yalu River.  I believe it was Argosy, True Men, Flame or some other testosterone fueled periodical - while getting clipped and butch-waxed that lit my loins on this issue of preter- feminisim. Babe Jet Jockeys and Asian Babes to boot.

Often the white male's burden.

" I have sampled the Asian buffet, beyond the fine fare at Chi Tung over on Kedzie, my boy. I am fully delighted to see that Red China is meeting the template of Korean era combat yet again. Have you seen the two babes selected to Red Star Voyage?"

I have not.

"Mine is pretty nice, but your's . . .is probably a damn fine pilot."

With that his neck and head returned to the concrete and clay of our lives.

" I'll get that estimate to you by Friday."

I am awed on a daily basis.

*One of two female fighter pilots will become the first Chinese woman inspace later this month, after the two were shortlisted for a place in the three-person team that will blast off in the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft, the state news agency Xinhua said.
Chinese media described Major Liu Yang, from Henan, as a "hero pilot" who achieved a successful emergency landing after a dramatic birdstrike incident spattered the windshield of her plane with blood.
Meanwhile, her rival, Captain Wang Yaping, from Shandong, is said to have flown rescue missions during the Sichuan earthquake and piloted a cloud-seeding plane to help clear the skies of rain for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
"They are selected as members of the first batch of female astronauts inChina because of their excellent flight skills and psychological quality," said Xinhua.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18410501
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1974793,00.html

http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/the-churchs-worst-enemies.html

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

More David Bromberg And Our World Might Make Sense



In last twenty minutes or so, have I mentioned that I play guitar?, or that I did.  My Gibson J-45 is now in the possession of fruit of my loins.  I played 5-string banjo and it rests next to my bed.

My stubby digits no longer pluck and plunder the quiet of God's Vale of Sweetness - Praise Him!

I bow to my betters in all things.  David Bromberg stands tall on Guit-box Olympus!

Witness! HebrewCelt!



A man of sense!


And one that really speaks to the authentic male - the human being with marinara- stained fashion wear, no loss for words after nine cans of Huber, or bear-trap memory when called at the bar!  " Your eight year old  son is and has been waiting for you at Kennedy Park - Baseball practice ended at three and it is now 4:30!"
( prgenant pause) and bluster! . . .Go, Man go!

He's fine it's a park, for Crissakes! I'm on my way! Honey, I picked up those flat-bread crackers tha. . . you (CLICK!) like. . .gotta go!



Have mentioned that I write?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/gibson-j-45-true-vintage-red-spruce-acoustic-guitar#

http://www.davidbromberg.net/

Monday, June 11, 2012

The Hickey Challenge - Argue with This!

Each human being has right to personal opinion.  No man has sole ownership of Truth.  Facts can be troubling things:

I feel twenty years younger!  Then I climb the stairs at Leo.  People value my opinion, in the same way one turns to cannibalism when their plane crashes in the Andes, enjoy three hour hospital visits from septuagenarian Blue Army of Mary Captain Maiden Aunt Gert every day, while trying to heal in a full body cast.

I have been told,

"You're full of #$%^!" - Mayhaps.
         " You think alot of yourself" If not me, whom? You'm? Think again.
" You're out of your depth!" - Nevertheless, I tread like Michael Flatley dropped in the Marianas Trench
" You're a hack!"  - Only when Mammon tickles my hollow palm


Acknowledging my all-too-human demerits, Argue with this!




Yet again, I posit!


Quod Erat Demonstrandum!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/txblacklabel/bulldog-puppies-chase-mom-28m7

Dan McGrath's " Leo: This How We Roll."



This Is How Leo High School Rolls

Every parent knows the agony and ecstasy of watching a child perform.
Whether it’s a concert, a school play, or an athletic competition, it’s always fun, in that it evokes a real sense of pride in what little Millie or Billy has learned to do.
It’s also torture because you want your child to perform well—perfectly, if possible—for the child’s sake, of course. And it’s totally out of your hands.
My kids are well beyond their child-star years, but I have great memories of the hundreds of events I sat through…well, most of them.
Enthusiastic but staunchly objective: That was how I rolled. I was there to lend support to all the kids, not just my own, and wouldn’t think of criticizing an opposing player or belaboring an official or lobbying a coach for more playing time. No, sir.
Well, there was this one ref who somehow missed it when that beefy girl from Burbank blatantly went over my daughter’s back going for a rebound and a put-back basket at St. Francis one evening. What game was he watching?
And I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an umpire squeeze a pitcher any worse than my son got it from that nearsighted dweeb at Dooley Field one Saturday morning.
Hawk, I hear you.
But I’m over it now.
Or at least I thought I was until a recent Saturday when I found myself at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston for the Illinois High School Association state track finals. The state championship in Class 1-A would be decided in the final event of the two-day meet: the 4-by-400-meter relay. Newton High, from the tiny, Central Illinois town of Newton, needed to finish fourth or better to claim its first state title.
Newton’s anchor-leg runner was a gritty young man who had helped his team accumulate its 30 points by competing in three events in two days of blistering heat. Newton’s relay team was in third place as he took the baton from the No. 3 runner, and if he could hold that position for his grueling lap around the track, the Eagles would be state champions.
I was hoping he’d take a wrong turn. Or worse, fall. I was ashamed of myself for thinking that, and I tried to suppress the smile that came to my face and grew wider as each of three runners passed the game-but-spent Newton youngster, relegating the Eagles to sixth place in the event and a runner-up finish in the meet, with 34 points.
The Lions from Chicago’s Leo High School were first-place finishers, with 35 points, and state champions for the second year in a row.
I couldn’t have been happier if those were my own kids out there running for Leo. And, in a sense, they were. I went to Leo, more than a few years ago, and I work there now, as the school president, a surprising destination for me after a long career in journalism. I think of Leo’s students as “my kids,” and I’m proud to.
(Video by Cresencia Felty)
Leo is a small, all-boys, inner-city school of about 150 students in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood on the South Side. We’re a Catholic school, so we have to charge tuition, and we serve some of the most disadvantaged areas of the city. Nearly all of our kids receive financial aid, most of it provided by a predominantly white, unfailingly generous alumni network.
Our kids are polite, friendly, motivated and well-behaved. They understand that someone is making a sacrifice for them to be at Leo—their parents, their grandparents, a guardian or an alum—so they work hard in school and they try to do the right things as people.
Being around “my kids” every day, I pick up on their likes and dislikes, on what’s important to them—for many, sports is the currency of the culture. I realized this shortly after I was introduced at my very first assembly. A well-meaning but windy speech was drifting right over their heads, going nowhere and drawing yawns until the vice-principal who had introduced me bailed me out.
“Before Mr. McGrath came to Leo,” he told the students, “he was a sportswriter.”
Well, it wasn’t like Derrick Rose had walked through the door, but it gave me a smidgen of credibility in the kids’ world. Sure enough, a little guy seated near the front immediately jumped to his feet. “Kobe or LeBron?” he demanded, and a lively discussion followed.
Darnell, the little guy, is now part of a group that comes by my office every Monday morning to recap the weekend in sports. They want me to know what they know.
We’re an academic school first and foremost, and we’re proud of our scholastic achievements. The week before the state track meet we graduated 100 percent of our seniors, for the third year in a row. (ESPN’s Stephen Bardo, co-captain of the 1989 “Flyin’ Illini”, did a terrific job as our commencement speaker). Each graduate has been accepted to at least one college, and they have earned more than $700,000 in scholarship assistance.
But sports is important at Leo. We believe that the hard work, dedication, and commitment necessary for success on the playing field will help a youngster get ahead in life.
The track team embodies that lesson. We don’t have anything resembling a track, indoor or out, on our 87-year-old, one-building campus; the kids get ready for the season by running the halls and stairways. The marble floors are murder on the shins, too, but I’ve yet to hear anyone complain. It’s a point of pride among our kids that our meager facilities don’t hold them back when they compete against more affluent opponents.
A big hurdle: track practice is relegated to school hallways at Leo High.
We had an all-school assembly to honor the track team a few days after the state meet, and the pride in the room was palpable when the captains walked in carrying the state championship trophy. It was our seventh one for track and field. The team has also received seven IHSA academic citations for carrying a GPA above 3.0
Senior Keith Harris Jr., a track co-captain, is an All-State running back who has a football scholarship to Northern Illinois University. He’s also the Class of 2012 valedictorian, a sharp, talented, dedicated young man. One of our best.
Winning state was especially meaningful for Keith because he was injured and missed last year’s meet. He scored points in each of his three events this season, so he’s leaving Leo a state champion, and when he addressed the assembly he thanked his coaches and teammates for making that possible.
“I love you guys,” he said.
That’s how we roll.
*     *     *     *     *
DAN McGRATH is the former sports editor of the Chicago Tribune and the current president of Leo High School.
STORY ART: Main image made in-house with photo courtesy Dan McGrath.
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http://chicagosidesports.com/this-is-how-leo-high-school-rolls/

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Illinois McDonough Contract - The Progressive Random Purg




 This is the common manner Progressive Democrats employ when saying thank you to a benefactor. - Pat Quinn gave James McDonough a random send off for his charity and support.
"The actions being taken against McDonough grew out of a random audit of McDonough last year in which officials examined a wide range of state engineering contracts the firm won between 2000 and 2009."

Some one in Governor Pat Quinn's Illinois Government decided to randomly examine McDonough Construction.

I wouldn't know James McDonough ,if he walked on me.

I have heard about the generous gifts showered on hospitals, universities, charities and especially St, Xavier University and St. Ignatius.

Mr. McDonough is one of the successful people that Directors of Development want to address as "Jim" after months of cultivation, golf, lunch and moist kisses to the McDonough rump and pry open the family wallet.

I do that, but I do not golf, tend to eat with gusto sans conversation until perspiring and then tend to pick my aging teeth and pucker-up only to secretaries, as they are the genuine engines of power in all matters of corporate citizenship.  The less time a Seven Figure and Change Prospect spends face-to-face with Patrick Francis, the more that person is  inclined to write a husky check for benefit of Leo High School.  Make the case, present the documentation and make yourself scarce are the three legs of Hickey's Development Tripod.

Common sense also dictates - never rub another man's rhubarb - Don't Poach Prospects Not Your Own.

James McDonough has never heard his executive secretary say, " A Pat Hickey from Leo High School keeps calling and sending drawings by him of happy students at Leo who would have bigger smiles, if you send lots of money. Do you want to talk with him?  Jim O'Connor* said he is harmless.  Okay, I'll tell him to . . . what is it he should do with himself?"

Mark Brown wrote a very balanced assessment of the ritual throat-cutting, in my estimation, of James McDonough in today's Sun Times. Mark Brown's commentary follows the fine investigative report by Chris Fusco and Tina Sfondeles that detailed to State of Illinois cast breadcrumbs leading to James McDonough. The Master-key word in this report is "random."


If allowed to stand, the cascading effect of the contract bans threatens the very existence of the firm, which is expected to go to court to challenge the state’s ruling.
Now, you may have noticed from time to time that newspapers will hype a story just a bit to get your attention.
Well, this is the flip side of that coin: a story so significant we can hardly put it in proper perspective in the space allotted.
McDonough and his company have been a major part of the fabric of this city and its politics for more than four decades since he left a post as Streets and Sanitation commissioner under Mayor Richard J. Daley to enter the engineering world in 1974. . . . In short, McDonough is a major player to be wiped off the board so suddenly, not that there won’t be any number of engineering firms vying to replace his company.Mark Brown Chicago Sun Times ( emphasis my own)


Mark Brown's nose smells blood in this random throat-cutting of McDonough.   I have seen this movie many times before - follow the bones to Dawn Clark Netsch. Mike Quigley, Forrest Claypool, Toni Preckwinkle. Jan Shakowsky, or Pat Quinn and you will be able to construct the dinosaurs tossed in the tar-pits.

Nothing is random - especially any full blown departmental  forensic audit of a random cash cow.


n.b.  -

John Carroll University Receives
$1 Million Gift from Chicago Couple

Katie Sheridan
John Carroll University alumnus Jim McDonough and his wife, Jacque, have made a  $1 million gift to John Carroll University to be used for The President’s Opportunity Fund
The President’s Opportunity Fund was created in 2006 and is intended to enable JCU President Robert L. Niehoff, S.J., to strategically allocate resources to academic programs, service projects, and capital improvements.
Father Niehoff praised the Chicago, Illinois, couple for their support, stating, “We are very thankful for their generous investment in our future.  Jim and Jacque epitomize our mission of developing individuals of intellect and character who lead and serve in their own communities and around the world.”
“We are delighted to make this gift to the University because of its commitment to educational excellence in the Jesuit Catholic tradition,” remarked Mr. McDonough, a 1955 John Carroll graduate.  “John Carroll University was a formative experience in my own life, and Jacque and I are especially pleased that our daughter, Maureen, is a graduate of the University.”
Mr. and Mrs. McDonough are among John Carroll’s most loyal and generous benefactors and have long been enthusiastic supporters of the University. Mr. McDonough is president and chairman of McDonough Associates, Inc., a full-service engineering architectural consulting firm with a worldwide client baseIn 1990, Mr. McDonough received the University’s Alumni Medal, the highest honor given by the JCU Alumni Association in recognition of an individual’s distinguished service to their profession, exemplary family and personal life, contributions to their community, and service to the University. 


I mentioned only Mr. McDonough's philanthropic gifts, because like any  person in Chicago with two nickels to rub together Clan McDonough is politically taxed by all and sundry.

Are there any random audits of Personal Pac associated gifters and captains of industry?  Cable News?  Print Media? Advocacy Industrialists?

Governor Pat Quinn does not exercise his sphincter without the say-so of Terry Cosgrove, e.g.  No random eructations for sensible Pat, let alone bill support and signage, or the random forensic audit of traditional political ally of the Old Guard.

From the slightly cracked steps of my front poarch, it looks like Old Time and Dependable funding-sources to Old Guard Democrats are being purged by the Personal PAC, Abortion, Gay Marriage Progressives funded by people who do not give to schools, hospitals and charities linked to a Saint's name. Fred Eychaner comes to mind.  I am sure that Pat Quinn and Dick Durbin have spilled more than a few fun-toddies and flat-breads heaped with caviar on Fred's carpets and couches.

Why?  Power needs to be demonstrated.  Nothing says power, like the very public execution of the powerful to signal the purges to come.  Play nice with a Progressive if you must, but expect to be kicked to death with a random act of kindness and show of Good Government.

Read and follow -Mark Brown and the Sun Times investigative team on this purge and the death by of thousand cuts awaiting Mr. McDonough.


* Jim O'Connor - St. Ignatius graduate, philanthropist founding member of The Big Shoulders Fund and gentleman to the backbone.  No doubt Jame McDonough is as good a man as Mr. O'Connor and I imagine the polar opposite of a Governor Pat Quinn.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/brown/13071894-452/theft-accusations-against-mcdonough-associates-a-huge-deal.html

http://www.suntimes.com/news/watchdogs/13040609-761/state-clout-firm-committed-theft-billed-idot-for-bonuses-outings.html